Wild
by LyraMaeArcher
Summary: Suddenly, his eyes slammed open and she threw herself backwards, crashing onto the floor with a startled gasp. Those emerald eyes that once looked at her with love now rent through her soul with more malice and hate than she could even fathom. It tore her in two. He let out a low and rumbling growl.
1. Prologue: Run

She could feel where he was more than see him. Pushing her back harder against the brick wall behind her, she froze, holding her breath in panic. He was so close the hair on her arms was tingling. Certain her pounding heartbeat could be heard in the nighttime silence, she closed her eyes and willed herself to be one with the wall.

He would find her. She knew it.

She could feel his breath heat the air near her cheek. Mentally praying with urgent fervour, she silently clenched her jaw.

"I know you are here," his voice whispered roughly beside her ear. He huffed, a sound rife with irritation. She cracked open one eye a sliver and almost shuttered with the realization he was almost pressed up against her. There was no escape now. It was going to be too late. His claws would slowly slip against her throat and she would be done.

Abruptly, he threw himself backwards and hissed in frustration.

"Come out!" he snarled, swishing one hand in her general direction but missing her only by inches.

Sensing this as her only opportunity to escape, she bolted, forcing her legs into instant action despite the agony they screamed in return. No time for that now. She must run. Or she would die.

Behind her, he bellowed his rage and clamoured noisily to follow.

Her lungs were on fire. She had to run, had to.

'Keep moving!' she screamed at herself, desperately trying to make a plan, any plan, that might save her from this. Nothing. There was nothing. She had done everything she could. Her last attack had left him without his immediate sight and keen sense of smell but that would be almost over. All she had left was to run. Run until she couldn't any longer. Until he caught her. Until….

He was gaining. She could tell by the steps pounding behind her and the ragged breathing that filled the air. Closer. Too close. She forced her mutinying body to keep moving.

A sudden and unexpected flash of light sparked to her left and she threw herself onto the ground painfully, rolling hard before coming to a jarring stop under a bush. She heard him scream and looked out to see him rear back his head and claw angrily at the air around him. His arm was pierced with a lightly feathered dart which he ripped out and threw viciously to the ground. Across from her, she could faintly make out two figures. One was red, the other green. They stood tense, on the defensive, prepared to react to the beast if he attacked.

Gasping for the air that her lungs craved, she lay there, her body refusing to move.

He continued to roar and fight with the power of the wild animal he was. His eyes narrowed on the team that approached him tentatively in somewhat terrified silence. She watched in horror as his claw sunk into the arm of the closest hunter. The man in green pulled away quickly, releasing his limb from the grasp. The beast was going down, snarls turning into sleepy growls before he collapsed to the ground.

The minute he was still, the team moved quickly, tying his arms and legs before dragging him to the back of a waiting van.

Grunting slightly, she pushed herself to her feet and forced herself to join them. Everything hurt. She dropped to the ground beside the van, still waiting for her heart to return to its normal rhythm instead of this angry, racing beat.

"You ok?" a voice beside her said softly as an arm carefully slid across her shoulders for comfort. She nodded slightly and the arm squeezed in response.

"We need to move. Can you get in?" her friend murmured, reaching across to pull open the door near her head. Nodding again, she dragged herself to the seat and pulled the door closed. She leaned back in the chair, taking some slow deep breaths.

She was alive. Barely.

It took so much of her willpower not to turn around and look at him. Right now she had to focus. They weren't done yet.

* * *

The van lurched to a skidding stop and she grit her teeth. Back to action. Everyone moved at once, jumping from their seats and out onto the pavement. She followed and moved to the back of the vehicle where he was being held. She didn't want to look but she had to. They were counting on her. This was something she had to do. Everyone knew that was the fact of it.

Steel resolve glinted in her eyes as she reached forward to grab him. He was still unconscious, head bobbing gently as she pulled him out and threw him over her shoulder. He was heavier than she had expected. A single grunt escaped her as she followed the other members of the team to building in front of them. They had all agreed this was the best plan, even though it made her want to throw up and cry hysterically. How could she be doing this? For one brief moment, she almost gave in to her secret plan of taking him and running. Her step faltered and she staggered slightly under his weight.

A hand gently touched her back in silent encouragement. Taking a slight breath and shaking her head as if to dislodge the fleeting thought she kept moving, plodding forward through the waiting door.

The room they had set up was bare other than a simple mattress tossed on the floor with a single pillow and a pile of blankets. It was safer this way. Safer for him. For them. For her.

Gently, she lowered his body onto the mattress and took a slow step back, crouched at floor level.

For the first time, she allowed herself to take a look at him.

Oh, how deceiving that look could be. Her heart twisted painfully as she studied his sleeping face. So peaceful and childlike, a soft smile on his lips. His blond hair lay messily across his brow and, without a thought, she reached over and gently brushed it to the side. His reaction was unexpected. A soft sigh and unconscious turn of his head into her hand.

"Oh, Chat. What did he do to you?" she whispered painfully.

Suddenly, his eyes slammed open and she threw herself backwards, crashing onto the floor with a startled gasp. Her blue eyes locked with his green ones and she couldn't move. Those emerald eyes that once looked at her with love now rent through her soul with more malice and hate than she could even fathom. It tore her in two. He let out a low and rumbling growl.

"Chat…" she gasped, and his eyes narrowed slightly. The growl increased in volume.

Hands grabbed her and started dragging her to the door, pulling her away from the wild beast in the room.

"MOVE!" yelled a voice, half dragging her scrambling body to her feet. She made herself obey. She willed herself through that door and listened to them slam it behind her. Then she broke.

* * *

_AUTHOR: **This is a preview of the story that is to come. I am taking the month of June off and will begin adding updates starting in July.**_


	2. Before

_Author: And so, the story begins._

_A big thank you to ChubbyUnicornMama for being my Beta and helping me stay on track. _

* * *

Marinette hated mornings. No matter how hard she tried, she could barely get herself out of bed early enough to get to school before it began. Today was no exception.

A croissant stuffed in her teeth, dark-coloured pigtails flying, she raced up the stairs to her classroom just as the bell rang out to mark the start of the day. Skidding to a halt inside the classroom door, she stumbled slightly with the momentum before righting herself and squeezing into her spot beside her best friend, Alya. Breathless, Marinette threw her bag onto the floor and pulled her tablet out in front of her on the desk, chomping enthusiastically on the pastry she'd brought for breakfast. She heard Alya chuckle and met her friend's eyes.

Alya shook her head with a smile, amused at Marinette's eternal struggle. The whole class knew Marinette was a sweet and helpful girl who could trip on air with her head in the clouds. Combine that with amazing creativity and a slightly awe-inspiring ability to overthink things to the point of insanity and you basically knew everything about the girl.

Sheepishly, Marinette caught the emerald green eyes of the boy in front of her as he smirked slightly.

"Good morning, Marinette," he chuckled.

"Morning, Adrien," she breathed between bites of croissant. Beside him, his best friend Nino joined in with a loud laugh.

"Ah, Mari. You make mornings the best." He stretched out a fist which she reciprocated with a bump and a stuck out tongue.

As the teacher began their lesson for the day, Marinette settled into her desk and attempted to focus. Why anyone would put physics as the first class of the day was beyond her. It was like torture. Science and Marinette had never really been friends. She was much more interested in art, fashion and design. But she needed one last science credit before graduation and this was it. At least she was in a class with her best friends. And at least Adrien was so good at science that he could explain everything to her when she got lost.

Like today.

She just couldn't focus today. Resigned to the fact that she just couldn't concentrate,

Marinette allowed her thoughts to wander.

Last night had been a tough one. She had settled down into her pyjamas, inspired to do some sketching when the Akuma alert had gone off on her phone. You would think after four and a half years of being a villain-fighting superheroine, Marinette would at least be a little bit prepared for an ill-timed attack. But they always seemed to catch her a little off-guard.

Transforming into her superhero alter-ego, Ladybug, she had cast her yo-yo and swung off to fight whatever monster lay waiting this time.

It had taken hours to defeat this one. Her crime-fighting partner, Chat Noir, had even stopped with his usual cheeky quips by the end, likely as exhausted as she had been. But triumph they had.. heading to their perspective homes in the early hours of the morning to stagger into bed for some much-needed sleep before the regular duties of their everyday life began. Four hours of sleep never could be enough.

Night time superhero work sure didn't help Marinette's ability to function in the morning.

Resting her chin on her hand, she let her eyes wandered around the classroom, silently taking in all the faces she considered friends. The teacher's voice droned on, leading the class in some complex mathematical equation that Marinette didn't even try to understand.

It was hard to believe that soon all this would be over, and her friends would all part their various ways to pursue all the dreams they had.

Glancing over at Alya, Marinette took in the sight of her brash best friend. Marinette had always loved the golden brown colour of her friend and that her hair was as fiery as her personality. Alya wasn't one to run from danger - a fact that had gotten her into trouble more times than she would probably admit but also that had given her success with her online work running a blog devoted to Ladybug and Chat Noir. It was a combination of irritating and humbling to have your best friend gush about you endlessly… especially when she had no idea it was you she was rambling about. Alya raised an inquiring eyebrow at Marinette over the rim of her glasses and Marinette just smiled sleepily in return, looking at the two boys who sat in front of them.

Alya's boyfriend, Nino, had been Marinette's friend for so long she could barely remember a time at school without him. His casual and relaxed attitude made his friendship easy. He was tall and dark-skinned.

Beside him sat Adrien Agreste. In the past four years, he had grown even more into the model his fashion designer father expected him to be - tall, muscular, square jaw. His blond hair was always carefully styled into perfection and he knew how to dress himself to play off the angles of his matured body in a way that would surely appease his father as a fashion designer. No longer was he the slightly awkward boy who had first arrived at school after years of being homeschooled. Now he was a confident young man who knew just how to flash the right smile and turn his sparkling green eyes to make a girl's heart threaten to stop beating.

Once, Marinette had been one of those girls that fawned over the model, but the years of friendship had changed the childish crush that had made her a stuttering, fumbling fool into a much more meaningful relationship. Adrien was one of her closest friends and she valued that above any silly dream of romance. Plus, never once had he shown any romantic interest in her or anyone else.

She could hardly believe that it had been four years since he had appeared in her classroom, scraping gum off her seat that the class bully had stuck there.

Four years felt like a lifetime ago. Four years as a superheroine had made her body strong and lithe, her mind sharp and tactical, and her confidence in herself like a rock. No longer did she question her every move or thought, praying not to trip on anything or embarrass herself in front of the class - even though it still happened at times. Now she knew herself and what she could do, even if she wasn't able to tell anyone why.

Keeping Paris safe from evil was a job that she took very seriously, even though it took its toll. Secrets are like that - gnawing away at your soul.

"Marinette?" a voice broke into her musings and pulled her back to the class. Snapping her head up, she found the teacher staring at her intently. Glancing quickly at Alya to try and decipher what she had missed before returning to meet the narrowed eyes of her teacher, Marinette felt her face flush.

"Uh…." she mumbled, "sorry. I must have zoned out for a minute, Madame." She bowed her head in apology while her teacher let out an exasperated sigh.

"Again?"

The class burst into laughter. Marinette Dupain-Cheng might secretly be Ladybug, with the power of creation, but her class knows better. She will always be the girl who is perpetually late with her head in the clouds.

"What were you designing this time?" the instructor asked with a chuckle. All Marinette could do was shrug and look genuinely abashed. Her eyes connected with the green ones in front of her and Adrien winked with a sideways grin that made her heart flutter.

As the class returned to normal, Marinette forced herself to pay attention to those stupid physics equations, even if they were the most boring thing in the world.

* * *

Adrien's life looked perfect from the outside. He had been blessed with the build of his father combined with the beauty of his mother. He had money and access to just about anything he wanted to buy. His face was plastered everywhere in advertisements, making him famous long before he knew what that meant. His successes were numerous: A world-class fencing champion, an exceptional pianist, multilingual, top of his class. His reputation as a gentleman preceded him wherever he went. As the face of his father's fashion company, Adrien was carefully obligated to behave, speak, and represent accordingly. At 19 years old, he was poised and self-controlled.

But Adrien hated it. It was all a lie. The house was empty and cold. His relationship with his father nothing more than professional, despite his hopes for it to be more. His heart had a gaping hole where his mother had once been - ripped out when she'd vanished 5 years before. He missed her every day. His life was controlled by a schedule that was planned without his consent, expecting nothing short of perfection. His only human contacts within the confining walls of his house each day were a bodyguard who never spoke and his father's assistant - a woman whose efficiency at her job was only bested by her ability to stay emotionally detached. Some days, though, his father would call him into the office, typically to voice his displeasure at something and threaten to remove his son from any contact with the outside world.

Every morning Adrien completed his required duties, checked his mandated schedule, and then hurried off to school - the one place he could enjoy the company of his friends in some pretence of freedom.

Of course, his father had no idea that Adrien was also Chat Noir, a vigilante superhero with the power of destruction. Adrien revelled in the time he spent in the suit. No obligation. No spotlight. No one to drag him aside and tell him how he had failed. He was able to escape the cage that his father locked him in and run recklessly around Paris, helping others just because he wanted to.

It helped that Ladybug was part of the deal. He loved that girl - even though she was definitely not a girl anymore. Strong, confident, and brave… she was his best friend and he trusted her more than he trusted himself.

Last night's Akuma attack had been tough. He had watched Ladybug run off to recharge 4 times during their battle, while he had been distracting the Akuma. He had passed out in bed the minute he had snuck back in his bedroom window, transforming out of his suit in the same motion.

For more than four years, he and Ladybug had been fighting foolish and frustrating villains created by Hawkmoth… a mysterious man who preyed on the emotions of the people of Paris and turning them into monsters. As a team, they always seemed to push back the evil and cleanse the damage made, returning the victims back to themselves. But the two of them knew they would have to face Hawkmoth sooner or later. After this long, they both agreed that sooner was preferred.

Adrien sat in physics class, bored with information he already knew. His thoughts wandered back to Ladybug, as they usually did. More than anything, he wished he knew the girl behind the mask. But, even after all these years, she stood resolute that it was too dangerous. If Hawkmoth ever figured out their secret identity, it could spell disaster. They had no idea why Hawkmoth kept pursuing their miraculous - the jewellery that held their kwamis, and Ladybug was still worried that knowing her partner's identity could be the weakness that he would exploit to get what he wanted.

He heard the teacher pause in her lecture, looking over his shoulder at his friend.

"Marinette?" she asked, waiting for the girl to answer. Adrien twisted in his seat. Marinette's bright blue eyes went from glazed over to focused and confused in an instant. He watched as a slow red flush crept over her cheeks when she realized she'd be caught daydreaming in class. He smiled. Ah, Marinette. She really was the sweetest thing.

As the rest of the class laughed, he met her eye and gave her a wink. The flush on her cheeks deepened and she looked away. Picking up her tablet and pen, she looked determined to stay focused this time. He turned back to the front as the teacher continued her lesson. He'd better pay attention, too, because it looked like he'd have to explain it to Marinette later.

* * *

"You'll never believe what news I got on the blog submissions last night," Alya chirped happily at lunchtime. Nino groaned, leaning back in his chair, well aware of his girlfriend's obsession with the superhero couple. "I guess there was an Akuma in the middle of the night and someone got video of it - see?"

Marinette pulled her head off the table where she had been semi-dozing and looked at her friend, who was holding out a phone with a video playing. It always felt a little surreal to watch herself in a video. It felt so different than it had in the moment. Lazily, she watched herself in perfect sync with her black cat partner as they battled against the Akuma together. That was one of the things that they had mastered over the years - the ability to know what each other was thinking and move as one with a plan. It was like they could feel each other's plan before it even set in motion.

The Ladybug in the video was running full speed towards an oversized man dressed head to toe in purple, yo-yo whirling around beside her. From above, Chat had launched himself off the top of a lamppost and was aiming for the Akuma's head with his baton. The villain had paused for a moment, surprised by the double attack and uncertain which hero to deal with first. It had been the opportunity they needed, Chat smacking the man in the head with his staff before rebounding to the side as Ladybug had whipped her yo-yo around its legs, pulling back as she used her forward momentum to throw herself at the Akuma. Reaching out, she grabbed a darkly coloured set of keys that had been looped at the monster's waist, pulling them off and tossing them over her shoulder into the air before she had landed lithely on the ground. Chat instantly responded by calling out his signature"Cataclysm" and catching the keys in his now blackened hand, causing them to crumble and the Purple-ator to revert back to a very confused man huddled on the ground. A moment later the video screen flashed bright red as magical ladybugs filled the frame, repairing all the damage done. The video ended abruptly and Alya grinned.

Marinette softened at the memory of Chat smiling at her with a tired grin after the battle while hunching down to help the man to his feet before she'd swung away.

"I love how they work together," Alya cooed, rewatching the fight closely. "I wonder if they've kissed yet?"

An annoyed grunt escaped Marinette's lips before she could stop herself. She did love Chat. They were best friends, risking their lives for each other every day, but she didn't love him like THAT. Despite how everyone wanted them to. "They are just a team, Alya. Why does everyone want them to kiss all the time? Ugh."

All that did was make Alya chuckle.

"Do you think that Ladybug and Chat Noir had to get up for school this morning?" Nino mused, stretching. "Middle of the night fights must suck." Marinette nodded in agreement and plopped her head back to the table to keep dozing before the afternoon classes began.

* * *

Adrien's lunch break was significantly different - at home, eating alone at a huge dining table. Well, not exactly alone. There was, of course, his kwami Plagg who, for some reason today, decided that he needed to run commentary and complain about everything while stuffing chunks of camembert cheese into his mouth. Adrien eyed the annoying little black cat creature with displeasure. He was too tired to deal with Plagg today.

Poking at his lunch with a fork in one hand, and absentmindedly scrolling through Alya's LadyBlog with the other, he tried to use this break to relax and gather some energy for the remainder of the day.

"Your father wants to speak to you," a voice announced from the doorway. Looking up, Adrien saw his father's assistant, Nathalie - prim and proper with her tablet clutched in her hands as always. She was the one person who kept things in line around here. Mentally grimacing, he nodded at her, pushing himself away from the table. Plagg made a beeline under his shirt and snuggled into a pocket that was hidden on the inside.

He walked across the hall to his father's work studio, knocking on the door sharply. His father's voice called for him to enter. Adrien drew himself to full height, carefully schooling his face into an emotionless mask, and stepped through the door.

Gabriel Agreste stood at the workstation, not acknowledging the boy's presence - fingers tapping away at the screen in front of him as he finished his work. As always, the man was impeccably dressed, professional and rigid. Adrien grit his teeth and waited, annoyed that even when beckoned he was still at the bottom of the priority list.

Finally, Gabriel looked up and made eye contact with his son. His father's cold steely stare always made Adrien feel unnerved. It was as if the man could see into his soul. He'd learned long ago that being submissive was the key to getting that stare off him. Adrien kept his head bowed slightly as his father stood watching him.

"Yes, Father?" he asked meekly, eyes on the floor. His father continued to stand in silence. "You asked for me?"

Gabriel made a small disapproving sound, his fingers flexing slightly.

"Look at me, son," the man said. Obediently, Adrien raised his eyes to his father. His father's eyes drilled into his, making Adrien uncomfortable. Trying not to fidget under the silent scrutiny, he waited for his father to continue.

"You are tired," he observed. "Have you not been sleeping?"

"Sorry, Father. I was just up late working on assignments to keep ahead of my class." Adrien answered quickly. His father just made another disapproving noise and continued to examine him closely.

"You won't be returning to school this afternoon," the man said abruptly. Frowning, Adrien prepared to argue. "Go with Natalie. We have to reshoot some of the summer photos immediately."

With that, Gabriel turned his eyes back to his screen and dismissed his son. Carefully putting his face back to neutral, Adrien nodded.

"Yes, Father," he said softly, turning and leaving the room. Nathalie waited outside the door, handing him his phone and school bag before escorting him to the waiting car. Adrien sighed. So much for relaxing.

* * *

This was his favourite time of day. From his perch at the top of the Eiffel Tower, he could see the beauty that was Paris as the setting sun left the city in a warm orange glow as it sunk over the horizon. It made him feel peaceful. Free. Breathing deeply, he closed his eyes and revelled in the feeling. All he needed now was for Ladybug to get here and everything would be right in the world.

Like as if she had sensed his need, he heard the soft whizzing of her yo-yo string behind him. Opening his eyes a crack and looking over his shoulder, he saw her land gracefully on her feet.

"Good evening, Chat," she said in a voice that sounded just like he felt. Happy. He smiled crookedly at her as she sat beside him to look over the city. Again he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with this moment. "Have you been here long?"

"Furr-ever," he purred softly, unable to help himself. She rolled her eyes, as he fully expected. He smirked happily. In silence, they sat side by side to survey the city below. She sighed softly and leaned on his shoulder. He looked over at his partner with silent admiration. He loved the trust and friendship that they had with each other. Even though he knew that she wasn't interested in a romantic relationship, he loved her. With all his heart. Even if that meant being her best friend - he was ok with that. Love is that. Just being.

"Did you get some sleep last night?" he murmured. She nodded against his shoulder.

"A little. You?" He grunted.

"Sucks having a life to deal with outside the suits," he admitted. "Sometimes I just wish I could jump into bed and never leave." That made her laugh. He loved when she laughed like that - head thrown back and eyes twinkling.

"Trust me, Kitty. I hate getting out of bed." They smiled at each other.

"Should we get patrolling, Milady?" he asked gently, getting to his feet and extending his hand to help her up. His smile turned to a grin as he let go and shouted, "CATch me if you can, little bug!" Jumping down the Eiffel Tower, Chat Noir threw himself across the roofs of the city with Ladybug chasing his tail. In theory, these evening runs were supposed to be lookouts for Akumas or other crimes, but they were more of a stress-release and quality time for the young heroes. It was something they looked forward to every night.

When Ladybug caught him, she shoved him off the roof with a laugh, launching herself away with a toss of her yo-yo. Chat fumbled for a minute, throwing his baton across the gap between the two roofs and grabbing onto it to stop his fall. In a fluid moment, he catapulted himself back into action, baton in his hands, chasing after the woman in red who now had a significant lead.

By the time they made it back to the Eiffel Tour, Chat felt alive. This really was his favourite time of day.


	3. All For One

Passing her little red kwami, Tikki, a chocolate chip cookie, Marinette lay back on her loft bed with a sigh. "I'm so tired," she groaned, wishing she could fall asleep right away. The neverending stream of life and action were starting to get to her. Too bad bedtime was the time of day that her brain worked the best. Right now, when every single cell of her body was craving sleep - her brain was busy creating, planning, and doing 1000 other things. Like overthinking the upcoming graduation. Although it was still a few months away, Chloe had already started talking non-stop about the party she was going to throw at her father's hotel for the whole graduating class. Marinette knew that she wanted to design and make something special for herself. It had to be spectacular. Dresses of that calibre took time, especially when you sewed it yourself.

She knew Alya hoped she could make her a dress, too. As if Marinette had infinite amounts of free time between her schooling, helping in her parents' bakery, and her secret life as a superhero. Marinette sighed again, mind whirling with ideas. Alya would look amazing in a floor-length, mermaid style, form-fitting dress with a v-neck neckline and a back covered in lace. Nino would probably die. Suddenly inspired, Marinette grabbed her pencil and sketchbook and furiously started to draw what she could see in her mind's eye. Her tongue poked out slightly as she concentrated, pencil etching lines across the page. The basic lines sketched out, Marinette reached for her colouring pencils and instantly picked a burnt orange colour that would look terrific with Alya's skin tone and hair. Measurements would have to happen before she could finish the plan, but Marinette was happy enough with it. She'd show Alya tomorrow.

"Tikki?" Marinette called, "What do you think?" Tikki floated over, her cookie finished. The little creature gasped and smiled, clutching her hands together happily.

"Oh! Alya will look wonderful in that, Marinette! It's beautiful!" she cooed. "It's the same colour as Rena Rouge's suit!" Marinette paused at that - wondering if Alya would be worried. Alya had accepted the miraculous of the fox years ago for whenever Ladybug and Chat Noir needed help, along with a few other of their friends. Looking at the design with a careful eye, Marinette didn't think that Alya would be concerned about the similar colour drawing suspicion to her occasional work as a superhero.

"What about your dress?" Tikki asked, her big blue eyes shining at her chosen wielder. Marinette frowned, lost for any ideas. Tikki settled on Marinette's shoulder as the girl let her pencil sketch mindlessly on the page.

They both jumped when Marinette's phone chimed with an Akuma warning. Marinette groaned loudly.

"Seriously? Again? What is with Hawkmoth and his nighttime Akumas?! Gah!" she grumbled. "Ready, Tikki?" With a grin, Tikki nodded.

* * *

With her kwami's permission, Marinette shouted, "Spots on!" and Tikki was pulled into Marinette's brown earrings, turning them a brilliant red with spots. A wash of electricity jolted through Marinette's body, manifesting as a flash of bright pink light, transforming her clothes into a red suit with black spots. A mask covered her face and two pigtails with red ribbons formed in her hair, changing her into Ladybug. Pushing through the trap door above her bed, she clamoured onto the balcony and launched across the city towards the location where the Akuma had been spotted.

Safely perched on a roof out of view, Ladybug took some time to observe the Akuma before taking action. He wore black pants with nearly knee-high boots that topped with a dramatically large flipped over cuff. His shirt had white, loose-fitting sleeves and was covered by a blue tabard emblazoned with a white cross entwined with fleur-de-lis symbols. On his head sat an oversized hat with a floppy brim, pinned up on one side and decorated with a large white feather. At his waist was a scabbard made of leather, housing a thin metal rapier with an elaborate hilt. A Musketeer. Just like in the classic novel.

"Maybe tonight I should avoid addressing you as Milady," a voice purred behind her. Shaking her head, she turned to look at her partner as he leaned casually against the chimney twirling his belt tail in one hand. "Too bad I left my sword at home today."

"Whacking him with a stick will work just fine," replied Ladybug, trying to figure out what the akumatized item would be in the man's ensemble. Not able to see anything obvious, she nodded to Chat. "Unless you have any other suggestions?"

"Touche," Chat grinned, jumping off the roof with a salute at her, landing on the road with a roll to his feet. Calmly, he strolled over to meet the Musketeer face to face.

"Good evening, sir," he began, swooping into an elegantly deep bow. The Musketeer's face clouded over slightly as he took in the sight of a cat in black before him. Slowly, the man began to pull his rapier from the scabbard. Chat didn't even bat an eye. Years and years of fencing experience made him feel very comfortable with this particular battle. He could read an opponent's body language and see the movement of muscles that proceeded an attack. Even without his own fencing gear, he was confident in his ability to avoid the man's sword.

"Only one for all tonight?" he pressed cheekily, trying to determine where exactly the Akuma lay hidden on the man. With the sword freed from its case, the Musketeer clutched its hilt tightly as he began to circle his opponent, looking for an opportunity to strike. "Seriously, what's the point?" quipped Chat. He lazily removed his baton from his back and extended it to be able to counterattack as needed. A baton wasn't nearly as gallant or responsive as a rapier, but it would have to do.

Ladybug stayed in her spot on the roof, observing carefully to see if she could find a clue on how to defeat the akumatized victim. Nothing stood out as obvious.

Suddenly, the man lunged forward, engaging Chat in an aggressive thrust and parry attack. Chat's baton was able to counter and protect him from the sword edge, although he admitted to himself that he suddenly missed his own sword. He swung his baton towards his opponent in a definite non-sword attack, aiming to knock the man off-balance. The Musketeer jumped backwards, raising his sword en garde, tutting slightly.

"Avertissement. Bad form," he reprimanded, before yelling, "ALL FOR ONE!" Behind him appeared three more Musketeers, all identical to himself. Chat raised an eyebrow. They all prepared to engage, swords at the ready.

"Four against one? That seems like it breaks the Cardinal rule," Chat punned, eliciting a slight growl in the costumed men in front of him.

Seeing that her partner was outnumbered, Ladybug joined the fray, yo-yo spinning in a blur. Standing back to back, the two heroes braced themselves for the incoming attack. When the musketeers attacked, their swords moved in studied and vicious manoeuvres. Grabbing his partner by one arm, Chat threw her over the heads of two of their attackers, allowing her the opportunity to throw her yo-yo at one of the men. Its cord wrapped around his body and pinned his arms to his side. He glared at her, squirming angrily.

With one opponent restricted she turned her attention to the one beside him. He eyed her carefully before he attacked, forcing her to step backwards in order to avoid his sharpened blade. He grinned as the tip of his steel grazed her cheek, leaving a painful stinging gash that bubbled with a faint green ooze.

Chat heard her sharp intake of breath and glanced at her quickly between parries, distracted by the thin but nasty looking scratch on her face.

"It's poisoned!" Ladybug yelped, pulling herself backwards to avoid the follow-up attack. Chat's response was a deep and aggressive growl as he pushed against his two attackers.

In a burst of inspiration, she vaulted over the head of the Musketeer in front of her, shoving his hat down over his eyes and then kicking his knees from behind as she landed. The movement surprised him and he crumbled to the ground. Growling with annoyance, he pulled himself back to his feet, ready to attack again. She yanked on his blue tabard, twisting it around his sword arm to hold him unable to thrust his sword.

Suddenly, a quartet of voices rang out, "ALL FOR ONE!" and behind each Musketeer appeared another three. Chat and Ladybug made eye contact, concern flashing between them as the multitude of voices shouted again, creating even more copies.

"GO!" yelled Chat, jumping over the men in front of him to reach for her. Giving her yo-yo a strong tug, it freed from the captive swordsman as Ladybug instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Pulling her tight to his side, Chat pole vaulted them up and away to the roofs above. Their feet were running the instant they hit solid ground, racing them away from the fight even as the cacophony of rally calls echoed behind them, creating an entire Musketeer army.

They didn't stop until they reached the Eiffel Tower.

They stood together in silence for a few minutes. An army. With poisoned weapons. That would be a challenge. Chat stepped closer to Ladybug and gently took her chin in one of his gloved hands, turning her face to look at the mark on her cheek. It was red and had a faint outline of green around the edges.

"Does it hurt?" he whispered, looking into her eyes for the truth.

"A little," she admitted. "I wouldn't want to have a bigger one than that."

Frowning, he let her face go.

"What do we do now?" Chat questioned, running his hand through his messy blond hair and pacing back and forth anxiously. Grabbing her yo-yo, Ladybug threw it in the air with a simple muttering of "Lucky Charm!" and into her hand dropped a Mahjong tile. She stared at it for a moment before whispering a name in understanding. "Master Fu."

Chat nodded. It did seem like a good time to get back up. "I will wait here," he said, grabbing her hand and squeezing softly. "Please be careful."

Squeezing back with a smile and a quick nod, she jumped back to the rooftops to find their mentor. Chat watched nervously from above, wondering how many more Musketeers there were now and how they would find the Akuma.

* * *

Master Fu lived in a quiet building tucked in a peaceful part of the city in Chinatown. As the last guardian of the Miraculous, he tried to stay pretty under the radar. Before reaching his house, Ladybug hid in an alleyway, transforming back into Marinette and passing her tired Kwami a cookie to recharge. Gently rapping on the door, the guardian's soft voice called for her to enter.

The small Asian man was sitting cross-legged on the mat in the middle of his room, dressed in his favourite clothing - a pair of khaki coloured shorts with a red button-down shirt covered in a pattern of oversized white flowers. Greying hair was slicked back, tufts sticking out mindlessly around his ears, and a small goatee gave him the aura of ancient wisdom. Over his shoulder floated a small green turtle-like kwami named Wayzz.

"Hello, Marinette," welcomed the wizened old man with a gentle smile and kind eyes. Marinette instantly felt at peace, allowing the chaos of the battle they were facing settle down to a simmer for just a moment.

"Hello, Master Fu. The Lucky Charm told me to find you. We need to ask for help." There really was no point in beating around the bush, not when the Musketeer army was out there. He nodded, understanding immediately, and stood up. Moving to the old-style phonograph that was positioned on the table behind him, he pushed a series of buttons on the side which opened the top of the player to reveal a secret compartment. Grabbing the elaborately decorated box that appeared, he placed it in front of the girl on the mat.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Choose an ally you can trust to fight alongside you in this mission. Choose wisely. When the mission is complete, you must bring the miraculous back to me." The box opened, revealing a selection of various miraculous jewellery. Marinette nodded, instantly reaching for the fox necklace.

"May I borrow Wayzz, Master?" she asked, smiling at the little turtle. Without hesitation, Master Fu removed the turtle bracelet from his wrist and passed it to her. "Thank you."

"Good luck, Ladybug," said the old man as she bowed and ran out the door, the miraculous clutched in her hands.

* * *

Alya jumped when there was a rap on her bedroom window. Throwing it open, she squealed quietly when she saw Ladybug waiting for her.

"Need me?" she breathed excitedly. Ladybug placed the fox miraculous necklace into Alya's hands.

"It's going to be hard tonight. We have a whole army of musketeers to deal with," Ladybug nodded, her face serious. Alya fastened the necklace around her neck, eyebrow raised at her hero.

"Musketeers?" she wondered, as her little fox kwami popped up in front of her. "Trixx!" The two of them squealed and giggled, with the fox squishing against Alya's cheek with a happy grin. "Time to deal with men with floppy hats!" Trixx clapped her hands excitedly.

"Let's Pounce!" Alya called out, a wash of bright yellow light enveloping her as she was transformed into Rena Rouge, complete with a tail and ears. "Are we getting Nino?" she asked, pulling out her phone when Ladybug nodded and sending her boyfriend a text.

* * *

Chat was surprised he hadn't paced a hole right through the floor beneath him. Waiting for Ladybug to gather their superhero team always took more time than he was comfortable with. Patience wasn't exactly his forte. Action and impulse were more his thing. But this situation definitely called for backup.

The sound of Ladybug's yo-yo clattering against the metal beams of the tower made him jump slightly, pulling him out of his thoughts. Ladybug swung into view with the turtle hero, Carapace, in tow, leaving Rena Rouge clamouring up the side of the skyscraper with her claws.

"So, Musketeers, huh?" asked Carapace. "Guess I should have paid attention in language class then," he added while Chat nodded.

"What's the plan, Ladybug?" Rena questioned her hero, anticipating a teamwork solution from the girl with spots. Ladybug frowned, thinking.

"Well….. Let's see. We have an army of soldiers with poisoned swords who can summon more musketeers if they want. They have us extremely outnumbered….." Her words faded off as a plan settled in place. "But what if they didn't have us outnumbered?" A smile in place, Ladybug turned to Rena, whose eyes lit up.

"Good thing I paid attention in language and history class," the fox grinned mischievously, pulling her flute out.

"Chat, Carapace - we need to find the original one." The boys nodded, ready for action.

As one, the group left the tower and bolted across the Seine to the Arc de Triomphe. Standing at the top of the arch, they looked out over the Champs-Elysees, where an army of blue-clad musketeers marched in their direction. Ladybug nodded at Rena who raised her flute to her lips. A short melancholy melody sounded before the end of the instrument lit up in a golden ball. Rena threw the ball into the air and there was a flash of bright light.

On the road below appeared an army of soldiers, all dressed in uniforms of the 1700s, lined up in rows with their muskets drawn. Ladybug stood startled for a moment as she realized she looked to be wearing an incredibly elaborate Renaissance-style gown in a deep scarlet red with black swirled embroidered patterning through the rich fabric.

Chat chuckled slightly, fist-bumping his fox teammate who grinned at the illusion she had created, before gently taking Ladybug's hand and brushing his lips against her knuckles. "Milady," he breathed with a grin. Ladybug rolled her eyes.

The musketeer army stopped their marching and prepared to engage with the soldiers that opposed them. Ladybug dropped to the road in front of the lines of armed men, pausing for a moment when she landed to make sure she was seen in the outfit that Rena had created. One man in the group across from her shouted something, and Ladybug took off running to the side to hide behind the arch.

A small band of the Musketeers broke off from the main group to give chase, while the rest drew their swords and began to charge the illusion army. For every soldier that vanished when engaged, Rena replaced with another, keeping the illusion alive.

Chat and Carapace gave chase to the group following Ladybug. Throwing his shield, Carapace knocked several to the ground before they could catch the woman in red. He caught it again, crouching low with the disc over his head. Chat lunged onto it while Carapace thrust upwards, launching the cat into the air. Extending his baton mid-flight, Chat Noir vaulted over the heads of the remaining musketeers and landed low on the ground, bringing the pole horizontally against their legs, tripping them to the ground.

Chat quickly looked over the group of fallen men, body on the defensive in preparation for a counter attack. Somewhere behind him, Chat heard Ladybug's call of "Lucky Charm!" before the first musketeer attacked him.

"Tell me when you see the original!" he heard Ladybug yell over the fray as more continued to strike their swords against his metal baton. Careful to avoid the sharp edges, he kept looking for some indication of which Musketeer was the first. A slight glint at the end of the hilt on one of the men caught his attention.

"This one!" he shouted, shoving the man who had a small gem on the handle of his sword. "The gem!" The man stumbled backwards slightly, allowing Chat to thrust his baton against the legs of the other men who attempted to jab him with their poisoned blades. Two of them buckled and collapsed.

Ladybug had taken the heavy magnet that fallen in her hands as a lucky charm and tied it to her yo-yo. Loosing the toy towards the musketeer that Chat had pointed out, the string wrapped around the blade while the magnet connected tightly with the hilt. She pulled hard, yanking the sword out of the man's hand.

"Chat! Now!" she signalled, watching as he pushed himself off the ground to grab the flying rapier.

"Cataclysm!" he bellowed, his right hand bubbling with black before he slammed it against the ruby-like gem in the hilt of the sword, making it wither away. Out flew the dark butterfly, fluttering into the sky. Ladybug caught it easily with her magical yo-yo and purified it before letting it free. The army of musketeers vanished, leaving behind a single man who sat blinking in the grass.

Ladybug's gown disappeared in a wisp of orange smoke, her normal suit visible once again.

"Aww, too bad," murmured her cat. "I really liked that look on you, Milady."

"Stop it, Kitty." she laughed, swatting him away. "Behave." He grinned happily as Rena and Carapace gathered with them. Together, they gave a group fist-bump with a cheerful "Good work!" before Ladybug led them off to a nearby alleyway to gather their miraculous jewellery to deliver back to Master Fu.

Chat turned his attention back to the man on the ground, helping him to his feet, and guiding him home.


	4. Hawkmoth

"NO!" shouted Hawkmoth, throwing his cane across the room in anger. Releasing his transformation, he turned his furious steely grey glare to the purple-coloured, timid butterfly kwami who cowered nearby. For a moment, he considered grabbing the creature and hurting him out of rage. Years of frustrating failures were grating at him.

Slamming his fist into the wall, he seethed in silence. He needed Ladybug's earrings and Chat Noir's ring. It wasn't an option. It was taking too long. Letting someone else do his battling for him wasn't working. Roaring angrily, he stomped across the room and let the elevator raise him back to his house office.

Nearly ripping the portrait of his wife away from the wall, he aggressively punched numbers into the safe hidden behind the wall. His fingers paused in a moment of hesitation before yanking out a thick tome from inside. Flipping it open, he read the text on the pages with determined eyes.

It was risky. But it was time.

He needed a new plan.

* * *

Chat Noir was tired, yawning as he launched himself into the window of his bedroom and dropping his transformation.

"Ugh," groaned Plagg, flopping onto the bed. "I need cheese." Of course, he needed cheese. The kwami always needed cheese. Adrien dragged himself over to the small fridge and yanked out a wheel of camembert cheese, tossing it to the small black cat with disgust. The little being cooed happily, pulling out a wedge and shoving it into his mouth with joy.

Adrien flopped on his bed, hoping he could get some sleep before Nathalie knocked on his bedroom door for his morning wakeup call.

In actuality, Adrien woke before the alarm, lamenting the loss of sleep caused by the nighttime Akuma attack. Glancing over at the pillow beside him, he smiled a little at the sight of his kwami curled up tightly into a ball. Plagg was making soft snoring grunts in his sleep, one paw flopped over the bridge of his nose. Even though Adrien could find his kwami more annoying than anything, he loved that little guy. He reached out and rubbed Plagg gently between the ears before heading off to get ready for the day.

By the time Nathalie appeared at his door, Adrien was washed and dressed, hair carefully brushed into its usual style. Plagg had eaten another batch of cheese before snuggling into his shirt. She nodded at him in approval before leading the way to the dining room table for the rundown of the day's schedule. He only half-listened to her list off the activities he was to participate in - fencing practice, a photoshoot - the usual. He took a bite of his croissant and chewed slowly.

Nathalie's voice cut off suddenly as his father called her name through her tablet. She walked briskly out of the room, her heels clattering against the hard tile floor as she marched towards the office.

"Any cheese?" Plagg's voice chirped, peeking out from Adrien's jacket. Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Haven't you had enough already?" he grumbled, passing over a chunk of cheese from his plate, much to Plagg's delight. He vanished back into Adrien's shirt, chomping away. Adrien shoved the rest of his pastry into his mouth and washed it down with a mouthful of warm chocolate. He swallowed quickly as Nathalie's returning footsteps echoed through the hall outside the door.

She stepped into the room with a slightly pale face and a tight grip on her tablet, clearing her throat.

"Your father wants to speak to you " she announced softly. Puzzled slightly by her behaviour, he took another quick gulp of his drink before standing up and heading towards his father's office. Making sure his clothing was straight and his face impassive, Adrien knocked on the heavy wooden door before pushing his way inside.

His father stood with his hands clasped behind his back. The man was the master of intimidation.

"Come with me." Gabriel turned sharply, walking towards the artwork of Adrien's mother on the wall. Adrien followed silently. He heard his father take a deep breath before continuing. "Stand there," the man said, pointing to a spot on the ground. "Wait at the bottom."

"Father?" Adrien asked, startled, as he watched his father raise his hands and push gently on several hidden buttons in the painting. The floor beneath Adrien's feet lowered, dropping him through a small hole and into a room below. Stepping off the platform, Adrien looked around the room in confusion. The room was large, domed shaped and cold, lit only vaguely by a soft lamp behind him. A whirring sound brought the platform back down with his father, who eyed him cautiously.

"What is this place, Father?" Adrien wondered. Gabriel moved to the centre of the room, curled into fists at his sides.

"It's almost been 5 years," his father began quietly. Adrien winced a little, knowing exactly what his father meant. His mother. She'd been gone for almost five years and every day he wished it wasn't so. He missed her laugh and the way she would hug him close when he was upset. He lowered his head and took a steadying breath, nodding slightly at his father in acknowledgement. They stood there for a moment, letting their memories fill the space.

"Give me the ring, Adrien." The voice was quiet. Firm.

"W—what?" Adrien stuttered, shocked at the unexpected request. A cold shiver rippled up his spine. Trying to keep his features carefully calm and neutral on the outside as not to betray the panic that was rising within, he felt Plagg hiss quietly in his shirt pocket. Slowly, his ring hand curled into a fist, unconsciously protecting his miraculous, while his body weight shifted slightly to the balls of his feet in a defensive position. He raised his face to lock eyes with his father.

He wasn't shocked at the harshness in his own voice as he spat out a simple, "No."

Gabriel's eyes narrowed slightly. Adrien tried not to let the small movement intimidate him.

"Your mother is alive, Adrien. We can help her. Together, " the man spat out. Desperation laced the edges of the words. "I need you. I need your ring. I'm only asking once." Adrien blinked hard, trying to connect the pieces. In his pocket, Plagg was moving restlessly. What did his mother have to do with this? His father wasn't one who would beg or plead. He expected immediate obedience. Not this time.

"No," Adrien repeated, gritting his teeth.

Without warning, Gabriel reached across the space between them and clamped a strong grasp on Adrien's arm. Shocked at the sudden movement, Adrien jerked backwards, only to find that it was locked in a vice-like hold.

"Let go!" he shouted, wrestling his arm angrily. Gabriel ignored the protests, tightening his already firm grasp, his eyes cold and calculated as he peered angrily at his son.

"I know that you are Chat Noir. Now give me your miraculous."

Adrien stiffened slightly, confused. Plagg began to growl softly. "What? What do you mean?" His father's eyes glinted menacingly.

"This house has state of the art security. You think I haven't seen you coming and going in your little black suit over the years, hopping in and out of your bedroom window?" Gabriel scoffed. "I could have taken that ring in your sleep, boy. I need it. The ring can bring your mother back. Give it to me."

Adrien felt all the blood rush out of his face, leaving him feeling dizzy. His father knew. His mother? How? How could the ring of destruction give him his mother back? Mind whirling with confusion and anguish, he stared blankly at the silver band on his finger. Gabriel moved to grab the ring causing Adrien to jerk back his hand and ball it into a tight fist.

"Never," the young man snapped, pulling away with more determination.

Suddenly, his father let go with a cold lopsided smirk. Adrien stumbled backwards slightly, catching himself before he fell. He stood frozen as his father drew himself to full height.

"Fine. Have it your way then. Nooroo. Dark wings rise." Adrien felt his heart freeze as a small purple creature flew out from his father's jacket and into a purple broach that his father wore. The room filled with butterflies that enveloped his father's frame, transforming the man into Hawkmoth. Eyes wide in a mixture of shock and horror, Adrien knew that he had to react, but his brain was sluggish - still trying to process the sight before him. How could the father he'd spent a lifetime trying to please be the one person he had spent years fighting? A villain who manipulated others to do his bidding. A monster?

Plagg's voice cut through the haze. "ADRIEN! TRANSFORM NOW!" Adrien tore his eyes off the man that was his father and connected with the large green eyes of his kwami. "NOW!" Plagg screamed in his face.

"Claws out!" Adrien said out of habit, feeling the wash of familiar electricity slide over his skin from his head to toes as he transformed. He braced himself for the attack that would come, pulling his baton out from behind his back to protect himself.

Hawkmoth chuckled to himself slightly, the smirk on his face showing confidence. Chat wasn't sure where the first hit came from. It happened so fast, he hardly had time to react. Hawkmoth's cane swooped in from the right side and Chat parried, stepping out of the way quickly. But the flurries were fast and furious, leaving the young man on the defensive for longer than he would have liked.

He parried blow after blow, dancing away from each attack with the skill that years in the suit had given him. However, no amount of agility or speed were giving him the advantage over the cunning and varied offensive attacks of his father.

From the corner of his eye, he saw flashes of white. The moment of distraction allowed the older man's rapier-like cane to make contact with Chat's torso, leaving a thin tear in his suit and a scratch across his skin. Chat hissed slightly, twisting away. Hawkmoth let out a pleased hum, pausing his attacks to make a thrusting motion with his unarmed hand. The butterflies surged forward.

Chat instinctively twirled his baton in front of himself, backing away until his body was pressed against one of the walls in the room, protecting him from attacks from behind. The butterflies filled his vision with a blur of white. Gritting his teeth, he continued to rotate the staff with as much speed as he could, trying to formulate a more offensive attack plan to get past them and to the man in the middle of the room.

"You think you can beat me?" the villain taunted. "Please - you are a pathetic child. Without Ladybug, you are nothing. You are nothing but a sad, weak, little sidekick."

Suddenly, the butterflies parted and Hawkmoth's cane speared into the spinning baton, twisting it painfully out of Chat's hands and sending it clattering to the floor.

Hawkmoth slammed his son against the wall with brutal force, causing Chat to grunt loudly on contact. One hand held him pinned to the wall by his neck. The soft, maniacal laughter from his captor rung in his ears. "You thought you could beat me, boy?" The hand tightened slightly, and Chat desperately attempted to drag air into his lungs. He kicked at the monster, trying to escape. The laughter continued. He opened his eyes to see steel grey ones boring into his.

"You lose, Chat Noir." Hawkmoth's voice murmured roughly by his ear.

Chat's eyes widened as one of Hawkmoth's white butterflies landed on the villain's other outstretched palm. He watched in mute horror as the butterfly darkened from white to purple, interlaced with a shade of sickly looking green. Hawkmoth's grin almost split his face in two, pressing the hand at the hero's throat more aggressively. It was getting hard to see - the edges of his vision darkening. Closing his eyes, he pulled weakly against the hand at his throat, trying to break free.

Hawkmoth didn't budge, no matter how aggressively Chat tried kicking him or clawing at his arms.

"You like my new Akuma? I made it especially for you," his father hissed. "It will turn you wild, feral even." He looked almost giddy at the idea. "And now… you become mine. You will help me save your mother. You, Adrien, are the key to defeating Ladybug. You will get her miraculous!" Hawkmoth crowed proudly.

"No," Chat whispered hoarsely, trying to clench his hand into a fist. The lack of air was making him dizzy. His weakened body couldn't fight anymore, falling limp in the villain's hold. The grasp on his throat was abruptly removed and his body fell harshly to the ground, smashing his knees into the floor. He could barely register anything, gasping frantically for air on his hands and knees.

His voice wouldn't work. He could barely breathe. Hawkmoth laughed again and Adrien felt the villain's foot on his back, shoving him down onto the floor. His body crumbled, collapsing with his face to the cold hard ground. His ring hand was pulled up slightly. Chat managed to open his eyes enough to blearily witness Hawkmoth move the akumatized butterfly and press it into his ring. A cold wave rocked through him and his body arched backwards off the floor slightly as a raspy howl tore from his throat.

"I win," the harsh voice above him boasted, dropping his hand back to the floor.

And the world went black.

* * *

He was on fire. It was radiating from his ring hand and coursing through his body in waves. He groaned and rolled onto his back, clenching his hand tightly, wishing it would stop. His side stung from the wound that had torn through his suit. His throat tender from being strangled. But his body was on fire. Opening his eyes, he looked around with hazy eyes. He was still in the room where he'd been fighting Hawkmoth, but everything was dark and he was alone. For a moment, he panicked. Was he trapped? If there was one thing in the whole world that he hated more than anything, it was being trapped.

Gritting his teeth against the agony flooding his body, he forced himself to sit up with a harsh grunt. Another surge of fiery pain shot through him. He felt horrible, bruised and aching, combined with this terrible pain that just wouldn't let up. What exactly had Hawkmoth done to him? What had his FATHER done to him?

The ring.

As if it knew he was thinking of it, it shot out a burst of agony through him, making him tense all his muscles and squeeze his eyes shut. He let out a low moan, breathing through the pain. He looked at the ring again. Usually, it was black while he was Chat Noir, but right now it was this horrible purple colour. Frantically, Chat tried to pry the ring off his finger, yelling for Plagg to drop the transformation. Neither worked. "CATACLYSM!" he yelled hoarsely, looking around the room for something - anything - he could touch to use his special ability. His hand glowed an eerie purple-black.

For a moment, he debated using it on himself. Maybe he could stop the horror that was coming if he took himself out of the equation. But, Ladybug wouldn't like that. She hated his self-sacrificing behaviour. Besides, he knew his ring wouldn't be destroyed. Hawkmoth would still win. Instead, he forced himself across the floor to the wall, groaning with each motion, and touched something he couldn't decipher leaning against the wall of the circular room. Maybe it was that lamp from when he first stepped into the room. Whatever it was slowly turned to ash and crumbled to the floor.

The torrent of pain increased and he collapsed onto his back, unable to push it off any longer. All that fighting for nothing. Hawkmoth had defeated him and there was nothing he could do now to stop him. His own father was the villain. Hot, angry tears slid down his cheeks as he let himself wallow, writhing in the pain that pulsed through him over and over. The fire lapped at every part of him.

There was no countdown. He couldn't change back. He WAS trapped. Trapped in a body that was going to betray him, that would destroy the woman he loved, that was going to let that monster win. His brain tried to fight it off. It wanted him to fight back. But it was too late. Gasping for air as the pain spiralled its way into every fibre of his being, he felt himself sinking. It was too hard to fight.

A terrifying growl escaped his lips, echoing off the walls of the room and into his ears.

Oh god, he'd failed. He'd failed them all.

"I'm sorry, Ladybug. Save me," was the last thought he had before he gave in to the tantalizing pull to be free.


	5. Wild

Marinette glanced at the clock on the bakery wall. It was nearly time to close up shop for the day. Stretching her neck slightly, she looked out at the sun setting out the window with a smile.

Today had been a good day. She'd slept in, shared her dress design with Alya (who had squealed far too loudly), finished her homework, and even found some time to start her ideas for her own graduation dress - a classic Chinese cheongsam with a few Marinette design twists. She was currently torn between some of the features such as long or short, how long the sleeves should be, and whether she wanted to go with a bold red or a soft pink.

The bakery had been busy all afternoon during her shift at the front, keeping her on her toes as she hustled around serving customers their pastries and bread. Although she was feeling a little worn out, she was looking forward to tonight's patrol with Chat. A race across the rooftops was one of the best things about being a superhero.

"Marinette?" called her mother from the back room where she'd been preparing dough for the next morning. Marinette hurried to her side. Sabine was a short woman, proud of her strong Asian heritage and where Marinette got her petite features and dark hair from. She was a complete opposite of Marinette's father, Tom, who was one of those huge men that looked intimidating at first glance due to their size, only to be revealed as soft teddy bears.

"I will close up, dear. Supper is on the counter." Marinette kissed her mom on the cheek, hung up her work apron on its hook, and bolted up the stairs to their apartment. The place was cozy and welcoming and, tonight, smelled amazing. Smiling, she grabbed her bowl of soup from the counter and sat at the small table to eat it. Tikki sat on the edge of the table, munching away on a small chocolate chip cookie.

Flipping on the TV for some background noise, Marinette carefully spooned the meal into her mouth. The news showed footage of the Akuma fight the night before as the reporters tried to analyze every movement they watched. Tikki giggled a little at some of the comments, particularly about Chat's reckless fencing attempts and the question of how long it took for Ladybug to get the rest of the team. Suggestions on how there should be some kind of team call or signal were thrown around.

"You'd think they would all have exchanged phone numbers or joined some kind of group message app by now," one reporter offered, the others nodding in agreement.

Marinette raised a curious eye to Tikki on that idea. Her little kwami just giggled a little.

"Not that it would matter since you have to get everyone's Miraculous first anyway," her kwami shrugged.

Finishing her soup, Marinette quietly washed her bowl and she considered the idea, wondering if there was a way to have a group chat. Or at least a way for her and Chat to communicate outside of their suits without having to give up their identities.

As she reached for the controller to turn off the news, the camera jumped to a live view. It held the beauty of the sunset over the Parisian skyline, the silhouette of her partner clearly outlined against the colourful sky. He sat crouched, like one of Notre Dame's gargoyles on one of the rooftops, staring down to the street below. Civilians were pointing and waving at him, but instead of his usual overly friendly responses, he sat completely still.

Marinette frowned. Maybe Chat had a hard day and wasn't in the mood to deal with people. She could appreciate that feeling. She watched as the camera stayed on him for a few more minutes while he remained statuesque, only the green of his eyes moving once in a while with a small flick of his tail.

The image changed back to the newsroom and the topic changed from Paris' favourite superheroes to something else. Turning off the tv, Marinette called Tikki and headed up to her room.

There were still a few more hours until she had to meet up with Chat for patrol. She would ask him what was going on then. For now, she might as well put some thought into her party dress.

"Pink or Red, Tikki?" she asked while flipping open her sketchbook and pencils, making her little friend giggle again.

"I think you know what my answer would be!" Tikki chirped, settling in the desk by the sketchbook to watch Marinette work her creative magic.

* * *

Chat was waiting at the top of the Tower - their favourite spot to start their evening patrols. She landed softly on the platform on the other side of the space. His cat ear twitched slightly in her direction, but he stayed still. She smiled slightly, wondering if he was pretending not to hear her.

"Boo," she murmured almost silently. His ear twitched again and he shifted slightly without looking behind him.

She paused before taking a small step towards her partner, reading his body language to guess what he was thinking.

Something felt off. His body was too rigid, his head turned away from her.

"Chat?" she called softly. "Everything ok?" She moved over to his side, carefully reaching out and putting her hand gently on his shoulder. Under her palm, his muscles contracted. He took a sharp intake of breath and slowly turned his head towards her. Their eyes met. She frowned a little as she took in the wide green eyes with extremely thin pupils.

"Hello, Ladybug," he purred, his voice dripping with icy coldness. It startled her - this feeling of danger - causing alarms to go off in her head. Quickly she pulled her hand off his shoulder and moved it to her hip, placing it gently against her yo-yo. She took a step back to put some distance between them. He smirked slightly, dipping his head.

"What's wrong, Kitty? Are you ok?" Her thoughts were racing, searching over him for some clue as to why her beloved Chat was looking at her with such a cold, aggressive stare. He didn't move, didn't speak, didn't anything - but a feeling of controlled rage rolled off him in waves. "Chat?" The word was soft, timid, and full of concern. His smirk deepened.

It felt like slow motion as he almost imperceptibly slid into a predatory stance and stepped slightly around her, muscles coiled tightly as if he was preparing to pounce on his prey. Like a panther ready to attack. She pulled her yo-yo from her side.

"What are you doing, Chat?" Trying to judge the best course of action while still keeping her eye on Chat Noir as he circled her, Ladybug wasn't quite ready when he lunged. The muscles in his legs uncoiled, launching him with a speed she wasn't prepared for, slamming his body into hers and knocking her to the ground. His weight pinned her to the platform, holding her down as she groaned from the impact.

"Stop, Chat! Stop!" she shouted, pushing against him with her untrapped arms. He was like a rock, unwilling to move. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her earrings and she realized his plan. "No! Chat! What is going on!?" When she punched his chest as hard as she could, he growled deeply from his throat, hands at her shoulders tightening in response. "Get OFF!" she yelled.

"I need the earrings," he snarled at her. One of his hands raised slightly off her shoulder, claws extended, and he started to reach for her earring. She froze in panic. Feeling her stiffen beneath him made him pause, hand mid-air, eyes meeting hers again. For a single instant, the anger in his eyes softened and he looked confused as his pupils blew wide.

"Ladybug?" he whispered, whimpering slightly. He yanked his hand back from her ear in horror. "My mother -" The words were broken, his voice raw. Pain twisted across his face and he growled. "Earrings. Must get…." He shook his head, eyes squeezed shut. When he opened them again, she blinked at him as panic flooded through his eyes.

"Help me," he pleaded to her as his eyes went dark and angry again, the black pupils almost completely gone, hissing loudly with teeth bared.

She used the moment of change to buck against him, knocking him slightly off-balance just enough to get her knees up and shove him off her. Jumping to her feet, she bolted - running at full speed to the edge of the platform and throwing herself off the tower without hesitation. Midfall, she secured her yo-yo to one of the tower's beams allowing the pendulum it created to launch her over the rooftops away from Chat, who was roaring loudly from above.

She didn't stop moving, swinging and running through the city to get as far away as she could, straining her ears to see if she could hear any sound of his claws on the rooftops behind her. Finally, she dropped to the pavement and collapsed to the ground, breathing hard as she gasped out, "Spots off" to let Tikki drop the transformation. For a minute, Marinette sat crumpled with her head resting on the arms she had wrapped around her legs.

What had just happened? Why had Chat attacked her, tried to take her earrings? And why had he begged for help? She couldn't shake the look of rage that had poured out of her partner.

"Tikki," Marinette whispered, raising her head to look at her little red friend. "What happened to Chat?" Tikki grimaced, her big blue eyes watering.

"I think Hawkmoth got him," Tikki admitted, shivering, before snuggling against Marinette's cheek. "He was so angry…"

She had no idea how long she sat there, curled up on herself, trying to process everything that had just happened with Chat. It was only when a rush of wind whipped past causing her to shiver slightly that she pulled herself out of her thoughts and stood up. Tikki pressed against her cheek again, sending her chosen a small sense of support and encouragement.

Keeping her eyes on the rooflines in case a cat appeared, Marinette walked along the streets in silence. In her purse, Tikki was earnestly devouring a cookie, preparing herself for an unexpected transformation if needed.

"Should we go see Master Fu?" the girl mused to her kwami. Mouth full of cookie, the little creature paused her chewing for a moment, considering. When Tikki nodded in agreement, Marinette took off running down the street towards the Guardian's home.


	6. Plans

Master Fu sat in relative silence as Marinette explained what had happened between her and Chat on the Tower. Tikki and Wayzz looked at each other with concern while the old man considered the situation.

"So he has been akumatized," the Guardian sighed, stroking his goatee in thought. "And he is strong. But he was fighting it." The man hummed, pulling himself off the floor to pace slowly back and forth across the room.

"Do you think that you can beat him alone, Ladybug?"

"No," she admitted softly, bowing her head in acknowledged defeat. No. Even though he'd fought against her before when he'd taken hits for her and fallen under the command of various akumas, she knew that this time - she couldn't. It was different just avoiding him while targeting the main villain or facing him while he was weakened. But this time it was him alone - full force. He was stronger than her, faster too. Even if she could manage to outsmart him with her Lucky Charm somehow, she knew that her emotions could easily cloud her judgement. She needed help.

A tear escaped her eye and dribbled mindlessly down her cheek, pooling for a moment on her chin before dripping onto her arm that she was resting on her lap. Her mind was racing. What could have caused Chat to be akumatized? What was he saying about his mother? Why did he need her earrings so badly?

"It's time," Master Fu said, pulling her from her thoughts, suddenly stopping his pacing to look at the young woman. "Call the rest of your team. Without their miraculous."

Gaping at her mentor, Marinette froze. He couldn't possibly mean -

"You want me to reveal my identity to them?" she gasped, heart skipping a beat. Four years of hiding her identity. It felt…. strange… to think of having someone else know. Especially that it wouldn't be Chat who found out first. She'd always thought it would be Chat first. The thought made her ache.

Worried and confused eyes met wise and patient ones. Giving her a reassuring smile, Master Fu nodded curtly.

"It's time. Bring them to me."

* * *

Alya's phone chimed with an excited buzz, causing her to jump a little while grabbing the one thing that she always kept at her fingertips. She frowned slightly as the notification lit up her screen. A text from Marinette? This late at night? Marinette did have night owl tendencies, although she generally didn't text late into the night - typically because she was lost in her world of fashion designing creativity when the rest of the world was trying to go to sleep.

**[I need you to meet me. Now. With Nino. Ladybug business.]**

That made Alya curious. Everything about Ladybug made the blogger curious. It was kind of her livelihood. Quickly checking her blog and noting that there weren't any reports of an Akuma attack, she threw back the covers of her bed and jumped into a pair of jeans. A non-Akuma nighttime meetup with her best friend and boyfriend sounded like the kind of adventure that fueled potential blog content. No way was she going to miss this.

_**[Where?]**_ she responded to Marinette, flipping over immediately to text Nino to loop him into the conversation.

**[Parc de Choisi - ChinaTown…]**

Now Alya's curiosity was off the charts. All she had to do now was sneak out of the house and get Nino.

**_[On my way!]_**

* * *

Before contacting her friends and Chloe, Marinette had run home quickly to grab a backpack full of supplies: a change of clothes and a bag full of cookies. She would have been there and back in plenty of time if she hadn't been terrified of running into Chat Noir while transformed into Ladybug. Now huddled against a tree, dark pink hoodie pulled up over her head to hide her face, Marinette couldn't help but feel exposed in the crisp Parisienne night air. Her eyes scanned the rooftops anxiously, hoping not to see any dark figures staring back. Chat might not know her identity outside the mask, but that left her with little comfort as she waited for the rest of the team.

Alya, of course, had responded to Marinette's request instantly, replying that she was already dragging her boyfriend along. Chloe, on the other hand, had taken some coaxing. Not that Marinette was particularly surprised at that. Chloe had never really changed. Despite being a part of the miraculous team as Queen Bee, the blonde girl was still the cold and calculating bully as always, especially disapproving of one Mlle. Dupain-Cheng. Being paged by her rival late at night on behalf of Ladybug hadn't gone over well at all. But she, too, was on her way - under strict orders to be as casual and non-hero-duty as possible.

Marinette was the most nervous of that. Chat did know Chloe's hero identity. He could follow her to this meetup. Marinette shivered slightly, scanning the skyline again for any sign of her angry partner. It seemed safe. At least for now.

From the corner of her eye, Marinette caught a glimpse of Alya and Nino scurrying along the sidewalk towards the park where she stood hidden in the shadow of the biggest tree she could find. Pushing the hoodie away from her face, Marinette stepped out to greet her friends.

"What's up, Marinette?" immediately demanded Alya, her curiosity at a late night summon all but brimming over. Nino gave Marinette an inquisitive look.

"Hold on," she answered softly. "We are just waiting for -"

"This is ridiculous, Dupain-Cheng. I do not like being called out of my house in the middle of the night, especially to this horrible park in the middle of nowhere important," Chloe's voice dripped with disdain from the other side of the street where she had just gotten out of her driver's sedan before waving him off. "This better be important, or I will be very unhappy."

Marinette tried to keep herself from rolling her eyes at the blonde's attitude.

"Oh, this is important, all right, Chloe," she responded, starting to move towards Master Fu's shop. "I will explain everything. Please, come with me."

With a haughty snuff, Chloe strolled behind Marinette while Alya and Nino fell in behind.

"Where is Ladybug and why are these two here?" Chloe gestured vaguely towards the pair. Marinette winced slightly, eyes scouring the rooftops again. Hopefully, Chat wasn't nearby. Silently she prayed that he hadn't heard Ladybug's name and had decided to follow them. She was pretty certain her partner had never been to visit the Guardian himself, as Master Fu had mentioned that he'd visited Chat Noir in person instead of asking him to come to the shop. The city was big enough that the chances of him being close enough to hear were slim, but it still made her nervous to have Chloe talk so loudly.

"Please, Chloe. Be patient. I will explain everything in a few minutes. I need to introduce you to someone first."

The group made their way through the winding streets, arriving at the shop quickly. A quick knock was answered with a simple, "Come in!" Pushing open the door, Marinette invited them to join her inside before scurrying in herself and locking the door behind her.

Master Fu welcomed the group, inviting them all to sit on the floor around his mat. Alya and Nino complied, after giving a quick, confused glance at Marinette. Chloe looked abhorred, choosing to stand instead.

"Greetings. My name is Master Fu. I am the Guardian of the Miraculous," the old man began. Alya stiffened, eyes sliding over to Marinette. "Welcome, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee. Thank you for joining us so late."

Nino coughed awkwardly while Chloe gaped, speechless for once. Snapping her mouth shut with an audible click, she whipped her gaze to the pair.

"You two are Rena Rouge and Carapace?" she exclaimed, horrified. Alya smirked, nodding. Chloe turned her eyes to Marinette.

"And who are you going to be? Ladybug? Ridiculous! Simply ridiculous."

Marinette felt her face flush as she smiled sheepishly.

"Guilty?" she murmured. Chloe's eyes boggled as a small strangled squeak escaped her lips. Slowly she sank to the floor.

"Dude," breathed Nino. "Woah."

Worriedly, Marinette met eyes with Alya, who only made a weird gurgling noise before returning the stare with a full range of emotions as she processed: shock, confusion, anger, understanding, and, finally, excitement. Marinette waited, unsure what she could say or do to help her friend. Finally, Alya opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Chloe.

"Please tell me the old man isn't Chat Noir because that will make me sick."

That elicited a soft chuckle from Master Fu, a slightly mischievous twinkle in his eye as he met the girl's hard blue stare.

"No, Queen Bee, but Chat Noir is why you are here. Something has happened and we need your help."

"You're Ladybug?!" exclaimed Alya, bouncing a little. "YOU are LADYBUG?!" A high-pitched squeal bubbled out as Alya threw herself at her best friend. "You're LADYBUG!" Marinette staggered under the unexpected hug, while Alya embraced her in a tight hug. "I am SO excited, Mari!"

The sound of Master Fu clearing his throat brought Alya back to business. Hastily she sat down beside a silently observing Nino, pulling Marinette down to sit on her other side. Chloe still sat where she'd collapsed, looking utterly disgusted by the whole experience. Tikki fluttered slowly out of the pocket of Marinette's sweatshirt and flew to the gramophone on the shelf behind the old man where the turtle kwami, Wayzz, popped out to give her a hug.

Before they began, Master Fu opened the Miraculous box and handed each of them their jewellery, citing how important it would be for them to include their kwami in the discussion ahead.

"So. Chat Noir," the Guardian began softly, eyes taking in each of the chosen youth carefully. "He has been akumatized."

Marinette's head dropped, tears threatening to burst out again. The rest of the group took a collective gasp before Alya threw her arm over Marinette's shoulder and pulled her into a gentle side hug.

"Marinette will tell you more."

With that, Marinette repeated her earlier encounter with Chat Noir on the top of the Eiffel Tower, including the momentary break in his attack to beg for help. She theorized that the Akuma was likely in his ring, but wasn't sure how to break it without Cataclysm.

The team sat in silence for a few moments, absorbing the information.

"Do you know who he is?" asked Alya finally. Marinette shook her head as Master Fu grunted noncommittally.

"I do," he admitted, "however, I do not feel that now is the time for me to share that with you. Right now, we need to find a way to help him instead."

The group grew quiet as they considered their options. A wild cat was going to be an aggressive Akuma, making him dangerous and unpredictable. Usually, Ladybug was the one to come up with the plan in the middle of battle, but this time seemed to need a more detailed plan that one made on the fly.

"I think I have to confront him again," declared Marinette softly. "I have to see if I can pull him out again and talk to Chat under that Akuma - see if he can fight harder and break out of it." Everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Maybe she was. "I have to try….. Don't I?"

"And what if he attacks you?" Nino asked, voicing the question that they all were thinking. Marinette shrugged.

"I run. I guess."

Master Fu made a grunting noise, drawing their attention.

"I think after we have made our plans, you all need to go home, get some sleep and rest up for tomorrow night. Unless Chat Noir does something first that needs our attention, we need to be ready for this at full strength." Everyone agreed although many heads were full of unanswerable questions.

They sat in the room, talking about ideas for an hour, making plans and trying to figure out how exactly they could defeat their friend without anyone getting hurt. Marinette's heart fluttered between a level of pain and hope, torn between an empty feeling of loss and the lightness of the promise of getting her partner back.

Plans made, the group departed the house of the old man together in the dark cover of the midnight hours, consciously creating a casual circle around their mentor heroine as they headed out. Chloe soon broke off from the group to meet up with her driver, casually dismissing the rest of them with a jerk of her head that sent her long blonde ponytail swinging back and forth behind her.

As soon as she was out of sight, Alya threw her arm across Marinette's shoulder, squealing quietly.

"I can't believe I never figured it out! I mean - you! My best friend. All this time! I can't believe it!" Thankful that her best friend was at least rambling in a whispered tone without announcing anything specific, Marinette flashed her a timid smile. "We are SO going to be talking after this is all over, trust me. Exclusive interviews WILL happen!"

"She's never letting you go now, Mari," Nino chuckled beside them. Alya laughed loudly, hugging her friend close.

"Mine!" she declared, making Marinette giggle. It felt good to laugh a little.

Together the three friends headed into the subway tunnels to head home. Marinette knew that Alya was all but bursting at the seams with 1001 questions that couldn't be answered right now. Not here and not in the situation they were facing. The questions would have to wait. Instead, they talked about other things while the train sped along - school, the graduation party, gossip of who was dating who, and (much to Marinette's mind-whirling dismay) if Adrien was taking anyone to the party.

Alya insisted that she and Nino accompany her home, so the three of them popped out onto the street close to the bakery where her family worked and lived, their conversation still going about nothing of importance to fill the quiet.

A shadowy movement above them caught Marinette's eye as they walked, causing her to stumble slightly. Nino grabbed her arm quickly, righting his friend to her feet as she stared to the rooftop above.

"What is it, Marinette?" he murmured in her ear, following her eyeline. He froze slightly at the sight.

Standing on the roof near them was the outline of a young man they all were familiar with. A black silhouette in the already dark night, his cat ears defined against the moonlight stood Cat Noir. Marinette shivered.

"He doesn't know it's us. He doesn't know we know he's akumatized. Act like he's just regular Chat Noir," advised Marinette in a muted whisper, as she raised one arm and waved enthusiastically in Chat's direction, before linking arms with the friends beside her and pulling them in a casual walk towards her house. "I think you guys are spending the night. I don't know if I can handle a stray kitty visit tonight."

* * *

She had vanished, disappearing into the night, to both his frustration and delight. The thought of a hunt made him quiver lightly with anticipation. It made the game so much more fun than if she had simply given in. Chat smirked slightly, his new wildness settling into his bones. He could feel the restless disapproval of his former self stirring just beneath the surface and angrily he shoved it back down into submission. Weak little kitten. He didn't deserve this power. This new Chat was ready. Ready to hunt his prey, to stalk and to kill, to triumph in his mission.

He just needed to wait. The game of cat and bug would begin soon enough.

Night time felt like the perfect time to prowl. Chat moved with intention along the roofs of the city, checking in shadowy corners and hidden alleyways to any evidence of the red-spotted girl and her miraculous earrings. Not that he expected to find her. Not tonight. She would have gone into hiding tonight. For now, he would just stall and plan.

The night was clear, but the air was crisp, stinging his cheeks slightly as he ran, making him feel alive. He ran aimlessly for a long time, feeling more feral with every step, and yet, still in control of himself.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a small figure standing under a tree, making him skid to a halt for a closer look. It was a girl, obviously trying to stay out of view, with a dark hood pulled up over her head. As she raised her head slightly to check the skyline, he pressed his body against the roof to avoid discovery. She was fidgeting nervously.

Curious green eyes watched as she moved abruptly from under the tree and lowered her hood, greeting a couple who were walking quickly in her direction. He was too far away to make out their faces or to overhear their murmured conversations, even though he strained to try. A dark coloured vehicle slowed to a stop behind the small group, waiting as a young blonde woman with a high ponytail and overly bright clothes stepped out.

Chloe Bourgeois.

He hissed slightly, wondering why she had willingly arrived at a park late at night to rendezvous with the other three.

"Where is Ladybug and why are these two here?" her annoying and judgemental voice rang out in the night. Chat's lopsided grin returned. She was there for Ladybug.

The small girl who had been waiting under the tree visibly winced and looked in his direction. It was like she was worried she would see a wild cat peering down at her. Chat fought the urge to shift his body into a predatory position that she would be able to see against the night sky. No need to startle the little mouse yet. First, he would wait to see what this motley group was up to and figure out how they were connected to Ladybug.

In silence, he followed along as the foursome made their way through Chinatown, crouching low to the rooftops. When they vanished into a small door and closed it behind them with an audible click of a lock, he surveyed the building for any other way inside without success. He tried pressing his sensitive ears against the door in hopes to hear something useful, but he was met with nothing. Growling on irritation, he moved to a rooftop across the street, picking the perfect vantage point to observe their escape… whenever that would be. His body was craving the chase, even as he stuffed that little wavering voice further down inside. There would be no more little voice soon. Only wildness.

An hour or so later, Chat lay casually on the rooftop, one arm and matching leg dangling off the edge like a black panther lounging on a tree branch, his black belt tail twitching - the only outward sign of his annoyance. Maybe they weren't a clue to finding Ladybug and her earrings after all. Just as he had decided to go back to running the rooftops, the door of the building opened and out came the group together. With a start, he realized that he recognized each of them - his best friends at school. He watched in semi-amusement as they broke off from Chloe and wandered towards the subway. Making a calculated guess, Chat launched himself over the buildings, scrambling towards the most likely place he would see them again - the bakery. His hunch proved to be right. The three of them strolling casually down the street towards Marinette's family home. He stood up, allowing himself to be seen, grinning slightly as Marinette faltered before waving in his direction. The threesome linked arms and went inside. Chat grinned.

Whatever those four were up to - he knew tonight he would get no answers. He just needed to bide his time. Ladybug would come back to play and he would be ready. Pushing himself away from his perch with his baton as a pole vault, he began to race with a furious pace back to the Eiffel Tower. It was time to rest for what was coming.


	7. Reason

Yawning, Chat stretched lazily in the warmth of the dawning sun. He smiled wickedly at the thoughts of things to come. Today, he would draw out Ladybug and begin his game of chase.

His whole body ached with the need to catch her, his heart pulsing with an excited fervour as he envisioned knocking her to the ground and tearing her earrings out of her ears. He could almost hear her screaming, blood pumping faster through his veins with anticipation.

Quivering slightly with excitement, Chat's claws etched themselves eagerly into the floor beneath him, leaving behind a mess of rough, jagged scratches.

Taking a slow, deep breath, he calmed himself. Not yet. Soon.

Green eyes alight with the furor his hunting visions had caused, he carefully and intentionally scanned the city that was bathed in the golden light the rising sun until he decided exactly what he was going to go.

* * *

"I still think you trying to reason with a madman is completely stupid," Alya said bluntly. Marinette sighed, knowing her best friend was absolutely right but hoping beyond hope that her kitty was still in there somewhere. Hoping she could save him without a big fight somehow. She sighed, flopping back onto the mattress of her bed. She hadn't slept much last night, between Alya riddling her with a million questions, conversations about how they could save Chat, trying to wrap her head around how he had gotten akumatized and the desperate message he had given her in that brief conversation. The weight of responsibility pressed hard against her shoulders.

Nino pushed his way through the trapdoor, arms laden with plates of food that Marinette's mom had likely piled high for him. It wasn't too hard to envision the woman's comments about the importance of a teenage boy needing to eat. She said it often enough whenever Adrien or Nino were around.

Making his way to the chaise to lounge casually, he chomped away loudly on a croissant before realizing both girls were staring at him. "Uh, sorry," he muttered, throwing croissants at them before turning his attention to Alya who was madly searching online for clues on where Chat Noir could be now.

"Do you think I should post anything on the LadyBlog?" she mused. "You know, to warn the people? Or would that start a Paris-wide panic?"

"Not yet," Marinette decided, listening to Alya clicking away at the computer. The noise stopped, causing Marinette to frown and peer over the edge of the bed to see what Alya had found. A news broadcast played silently on the monitor, a single camera trained on Chat Noir as he made his way over the rooftops.

"Turn it up," she whispered, climbing quickly down the stairs of her loft bed to stand behind her friend and watch what was happening.

Alya turned the dial on the speakers and the three of them watched in shock as Chat Noir turned abruptly to the helicopter that followed him, letting out a nasty sounding snarl before jumped directly into the camera screen, claws slashing. Just as the screen froze, a splash of his wild green eyes pierced through it making Marinette shiver slightly with fear. That wasn't her Chat. That was a cold and angry creature wearing her kitty's face. The camera went dark and the news team scrambled to get control of themselves in the studio. Marinette blinked, hoping there would be another camera somewhere that could pick up his location or any clue of what he was up to.

Alya frantically flipped her camera open and began to live stream on her blog, begging people to give her on the street eyes of Chat, careful to not give away where she was recording from or to say anything that could be panic-inducing.

The responses were almost instant - numerous blurry images and video clips of Chat tearing across the city towards the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Marinette scrambled out of the skylight and out onto her balcony before Alya and Nino could even react. From the railing above her room, she could easily survey the centuries-old building. She stared at it intently for any sight of her partner. A cold shiver tore up her spine when she spotted him standing on the apex of the roof in full daylight.

Behind her, she heard Alya pulling herself up onto the balcony to join her.

"What's he doing?" Alya puzzled roughly, spying Chat on the roof. Marinette couldn't speak, quickly glancing at the little red kwami who hovered at her shoulder. Tikki's wide blue eyes met hers with complete understanding and a small nod.

"Transform me," whispered Marinette as Tikki rushed into her earrings and the warmth of her change into Ladybug fluttered across her body. Her yo-yo was already looped around her first perch when Alya screeched for her to wait. Ladybug yanked the cord, allowing her yo-yo to pull her along towards the church. Her feet landed softly on the cathedral roof and she carefully untangled her yo-yo from its hold to be on the ready.

His back was to her, but she knew he was aware of her arrival.

"Chat," she whispered. He twisted his head to look at her over his shoulder slightly, a wicked smirk curling his lip before looking down at this hand which began to swirl with a terrifyingly familiar black power. Her eyes shot wide open, and her yo-yo was already in motion to try to stop the intentional descent of his arm as the words "CHAT! NO!" were screaming from her throat. The string of her weapon wrapped itself around his forearm and Ladybug yanked on it with all her might, holding his hand back from its destination.

He paused for a moment, letting her strength keep him in check as he turned his body to face her, raising his eyes to hers with a wild flash of violence. The wicked smirk returned and he jerked the arm she had constrained quickly, causing her to stumble towards him. Carefully keeping his cataclysm away from her, he grabbed her waist this his other hand and pulled her body flush against his.

"Milady," he purred softly. His eyes were bloodthirsty as he looked down at her, making her heart freeze.

"Chat," her voice whimpered, "please. Come back to me."

He let his breath out in a sharp hiss before tightening his grasp on her and pressing his lips against hers with a growl. She stood frozen against him, shock leaving her unable to respond to him. He pulled back and looked at her again, his eyes dancing wildly.

"No," he breathed, and with a sudden lurch leaned over to slam his blackened hand against the roof of the building. Her yo-yo still twisted around his forearm, she felt herself floundering as her centre of gravity shifted with the movement, only managing to keep from faceplanting to the rooftop by his strong hold on her body.

The rooftop started to crumble beneath them as he kept his eyes locked with hers. Against her, she felt his muscles brace for the fall, his arms letting go of her as he grabbed his baton from behind him. She fell first, yelping as the roof caved in under her feet. Hanging onto the yo-yo string around his arm with all her might, she began to pendulum into the opening, swinging her legs out far in front of her to control the momentum. When she was at the top of her swing, she expertly pulled the string to recall her weapon and, despite the small moment of opposition, breathed a sigh of relief as it came free, allowing her to throw it again to another location.

Using the features inside the cathedral to bring herself to a stop, she lowered herself carefully to the floor. Yo-yo in hand, she spun around to see Chat crashing fluidly to the ground, landing on his feet with a deep crouch, baton in hand. He stood up slowly, his eyes raised to hers with a dangerous gleam.

"Chat, listen. I can help you. Please," she begged, her heart thumping nervously against her ribcage, mind racing to find a way to get through to him. "Hawkmoth is using you, not helping you."

She could hear the low growl from across the space between them.

"Please. You said something about your mother. What happened, Chat?" The flash of unbridled anger through his eyes and his jaw clenched tightly. She kept talking, hoping something would get to him. "Please. Let me help you."

"GIVE ME THE EARRINGS!" he roared, his eyes burning with rage. He had crossed the gap between them in an instant, his baton colliding hard with the arm that she raised on instinct. The ripple of shock from the impact vibrated through her whole body, ending with her toes as she pressed against the blow.

"Stop Chat. This isn't you. Fight him!" she begged. He pushed his baton against her harder, teeth bared. "Please!" The snarl he loosed was terrifying.

With the baton pressed heavily against her arms, she suddenly dropped to her knees, causing him to stumble forward with the unexpected loss of counter pressure. Taking the opportunity, she grabbed at his legs, using his forward momentum to throw his weight over her shoulder. He hit the ground face first, baton clattering noisily against the stone floor. Quickly, she pivoted in place and lunged onto his back, using her weight to hold him down. He growled angrily.

"You can fight this." A whispered plea.

A tangle of legs and arms twisted together as Chat flipped over, reversing their positions to hold her pinned face first to the floor with his baton across her shoulders.

"I don't want to," he hissed in her ear. One set of claws grasped clumsily at an earring while she writhed beneath him, trying to free herself from his grasp. "Stay still!"

"Never!" she yelped back. A soft thump above her made him draw his fingers back in surprise before he was knocked off of her in a blur of green. Hand grabbing at the shield he'd thrown, Carapace brought it down hard on Chat. Rena Rouge came flying in behind him, yanking Ladybug to her feet.

"Hide," the fox heroine breathed to her friend, bringing her orange and white flute to her lips. The room filled with Ladybug clones running in all sorts of directions. Pausing only for a moment in surprise, Ladybug raced to the back of the church, throwing open the doors and sliding into the open air. People stood around the building in various levels of shock at the collapse of the historic and beautiful landmark's roof.

"Stay back!" she screamed, tossing her yo-yo to one of the buttresses and swinging up and out of the way. Running across the top of the wall, she took off into the city, far enough to find a space to transform and drop to the street level where she could blend in with the crowd of people.

Inside, Chat roared at Carapace - shifting his weight to throw the turtle off of him before bounding to his feet, baton swinging at each Ladybug he could reach. Vanishing in puffs of orange smoke, each illusion just made him more aggressive and angry. His eyes turned to Rena, ready to attack when a green dome appeared around her and several of the Ladybugs protectively. Carapace stood inside the dome with them, grinning cockily at the cat.

For a moment, Chat looked like he was just going to tear the dome apart with his bare hands, eyes narrowed and angry. Instead, he turned and attacked every remaining Ladybug he could find until they all were evaporated.

Pushing his face against the dome, he snarled, "I will get her earrings" before running towards the heavy wooden door that sat slightly askew. He slid to a halt in front of the rows of lit candles, tilting his head slightly as he paused before grabbing each one and throwing them around the church. A small burst of flame licked at the wooden features, the cloth covers, the papers throughout the sanctuary.

With a wicked smirk, he pushed himself through the doors and out into the open air. The crowd of people gasped at his sudden appearance, murmurs rippling through them. His head tilted upwards, he breathed in heavily. He had lost her smell in the church, but he wasn't sure if she had gotten out or if she was trapped in that's turtle's bubble. The stench of fire curled around his nostrils, but there, faintly, was her. Flowers. Sunshine. Fear. His smirk deepened. She was afraid of him. Good.

He launched himself up with his baton, feet nimbly landing on the buttress tops and running across them as he followed her scent. When he dropped to the ground where she'd dropped her transformation, he hissed in anger. Her distinctive smell was gone, replaced with the scents of thousands of human bodies that had passed through here. Stealthy little bug, hiding away from him. Not that it would stop him. Pushing himself to the roof again, he perched on the top and let his eyes wander over the throng of people who were now panicking at the sight of flames dancing through the doorway.

* * *

Carapace dropped the shelter he'd created, his Miraculous beeping slightly. The flames that Chat had started were etching their way through the building at an alarming rate. Rena shot him a worried look.

"What do we do?" she cried softly. They didn't have the ability or tools to stop a fire. Especially one that was burning wildly. It was terrifying to see it consuming everything in its path. The heat was rising inside the church walls, filling their air with thick black smoke They needed to put it out or get out as fast as possible. Already it was getting hard to breathe.

He couldn't use shelter again, and even if he could, how big would it need to be to protect the rest of the church from the fire? Rena's illusions couldn't help here.

One last survey of the situation left him without any form of helpful action to stop the flames from spreading. Voice thick with disappointment, he grabbed Rena and started running towards an exit away from the main doors.

"We run," he whispered, barreling his way out of the church into the street. He kept running, Rena tucked against him as he threw them into a secluded space. His Miraculous chimed again, in tandem with that of his partner. They dropped their transformations and stared at each other solemnly.

"Mari," Alya murmured finally, and Nino nodded, grabbing her hand and dragging her out to the crowd. The church was on fire and the world around them was a mixture of horror and panic as fire engines tried to get into the area. Pushing their way through the throng of people, Alya and Nino moved towards the bakery, stumbling into the doors.

With a nod to Marinette's parents who spared them a quick glance from their vantage point at the front window, the teens scrambled up to find Marinette standing on her balcony overlooking the now flaming Notre Dame. Her knuckles were almost as white as her face as she tried to keep herself upright.

"He did that," she said shakily. Alya threw her arm around her best friend.

"We'll get him back, Marinette. I promise."


	8. Run

Marinette stood looking out her bedroom window, hands twisted together awkwardly as she attempted to calm her nerves. It had taken all day for the firefighters to get the fire under control and there had been a worldwide cry at the devastation of such an important historical landmark. Alya and Nino had stayed with her the whole day, watching the experience unfold both from the news broadcasts and their vantage point of Marinette's balcony.

Now, the sky was dark, air filled with the residual heaviness of smoke. The tears that stung her eyes, however, weren't so much a result from the air, but more from the complicated emotions that plagued her.

The thought of having to face her partner again in his increasingly aggressive behaviour. She felt torn between her sense of duty to protect Paris and the love she held for the boy who had been her other half for so long. She wanted to save him, help him, free him but at the same time, she had to admit that maybe it would need to be more than that. That she would have to shove her feelings aside and force herself to fight him more brutally than any other Akuma she had ever faced before.

Sinking into the cushions of her chaise, she allowed herself one brief moment of internal panic, picturing the rage she had seen behind his eyes, the roughness of his lips pressed against hers, remembering the feeling of his cataclysm beneath her feet. A shudder ran through her at the memory.

Tikki let out a soft sound, pressing her red cheek against Marinette's as a sign of support.

"I know you are scared," began the small creature. "But Chat Noir needs you. You know that. Over and over, he sacrifices himself because he knows you will save him. It is the same this time. He is counting on you."

Nodding solemnly, Marinette wasn't sure if she felt encouraged or devastated by the reminder of how much Chat loved her. Whatever she was feeling, she knew Tikki was right. Chat was counting on her. He needed her.

Steeling herself, she gave Tikki another cookie, and dumped more into the backpack she planned to bring under her suit.

Alya pushed her way through the trapdoor on her floor and entered the room with Nino on her heels. In silence, the three looked at each other in understanding.

Theories had sprouted all afternoon about Chat's abilities and limitations. He could obviously use Cataclysm, but could he use it again repeatedly? Did he need to recharge at all? So many unknowns. The main plan was to catch him, bring him somewhere safe (or as safe as possible) and try to break through the Akuma somehow.

But first, they had to find him.

Preparations all set, the three teens headed out of the bakery on foot, kwamis hidden away carefully in their pockets and bags to be called on when needed. The streets were still full of people milling about, chatting about the destruction of the cathedral and speculating on what has happened.

Careful observations of the rooflines and alleyways revealed that Chat was nowhere around the cathedral nor the bakery. Marinette felt like she knew exactly where he would be waiting.

When the others agreed, they hid together to transform, leaving Alya slightly giddy at the continued reminder that her best friend was also her idol.

Three flashes of colour raced across the houses, heading to the Eiffel Tower. They weren't disappointed.

Chat lounged casually against the beams of the tower, swinging his leg slightly while spinning his tail in a manner that seemed far too calm for his current personality.

"Ah, Milady, you are finally here," he purred coldly when they all landed on the platform near him. "And with part of the team, I am honoured."

His leap to his feet was lithe, a lazy smirk curling his lips. Ladybug tried not to let his relaxed demeanour throw her off. She swung her yo-yo in front of her so quickly it was nothing but a red, whistling blur - a shield against her enemy.

"I tried being reasonable, Chat," she snapped, watching as he shifted into the same predatory stance as before. Rena and Carapace flanked her sides closely. Chat's eyes narrowed as he watched their defensive performance. Noting his ears pressed against his head and his teeth peeking through his snarled lips, Ladybug braced herself for his attack.

It was fast and furious, baton twirling out of nowhere and cracking hard against Carapace's heavy shield with a loud clang. His feet were barely on the ground again before one swung out and brushed against Rena's legs, sending her jumping back to avoid being knocked down.

Instantly she responded, flute to her lips and a ball of light flashing brightly in front of his eyes, creating an illusion of blackness, blinding him to not be able to see anything. The action forced him to roll away from them, crouched low as his eyes could see nothing in the void that Rena had created, relying only on his hearing instead.

Seeing her opportunity, Ladybug tossed her yo-yo, allowing it to wrap tightly around her partner and pinning his hands and baton by his sides. He tumbled over, eyes screwed shut, trapped by the string of her weapon.

It felt too easy. They couldn't have defeated him in a short battle, could they? Ladybug was hesitant but hopeful as she approached him, her friends close behind her. His ears twitched slightly as she got closer.

She didn't know how he got loose from the ties, but suddenly he was on his feet, arms wrapped tightly around her and shoving past Rena and Carapace with a snarl. She didn't even have time to react, he ran so quickly to the other edge of the platform. They were in the air, falling before she even made a startled squeak.

Instinctively, her arms flew around his neck and her face buried into his collarbone as she trusted him to keep her safe. Many years of partnership trust kicked in without realization while he helicoptered them to the nearest rooftop and raced across the city to a warehouse. Sliding to a stop, he released his hold on her and detangled her arms from his neck with a wicked-looking grin.

"I am still purrrrty irresistible, milady, aren't I?" His voice was smooth, but lacking every bit of Chat's usual twinkle and sass. It was harsh. Shaking her head to set her mind straight, she took a step backwards.

"Stop that. You aren't my kitty," she ground out, hand dropping to the yo-yo at her waist. "Unless you want to let him out and go away." Chat just laughed - a cruel, haunting sound ringing in her ears.

"Start running, Bug. Be my mouse. I've been looking forward to this all day." A glint of excitement few through his eyes as he ran a claw gently down the side of her face, head tilting sideways. "Make it a challenge, Bug. I love a good game of chase."

* * *

The glare that she gave him sent a tingle up his spine. Yes, that is what he wanted - a challenge. It was too easy to just rip the earrings out of her ears. He'd had plenty of opportunities to do that already. He craved the chase.

For a moment, he thought she was just going to stand there in defiance, eyes burning through him. Lips curling, he stepped towards her, body arched intimidatingly. He let a low growl rumble through him, narrowing his eyes at his prey. The only indication of her momentary uncertainty was a slight intake of breath. Taking another step into her personal space, he could feel his heart leap in anticipation. Maybe she wouldn't run and he should just grab her now and tear her earrings free. Maybe he should claw her sharply and see if she would keep this brave face. Or maybe she would beg for mercy. The thought thrilled him completely.

She jerked backwards while staring at his face as he quivered like an arrow pulled back taunt on a bowstring, the excitement of the chase bringing a wild grin to his lips.

In a blink, she was gone, dropped over the edge of the roof and swooping into the alley below. He could hear her yo-yo whizzing as she hastily tossed and swung it, calling it back to her midswing to launch it again.

The Chase was on. His muscled coiled tightly, waiting for the launch. As soon as she vanished out of view, he sprang, claws clattering loudly against the shingles as all four limbs pushed their way across the skyline in pursuit.

At first, the goal was just to follow her - chase her and pin her down. Then, as he realized he was closing in, the game changed. Now she was his prey. Now he could stalk her and attack at the best moment.

Seeing her slip into a shadow to hide, he brought his clamouring limbs to a standstill, crouching low to the rooftop. Slowly, cautiously, he silently prowled, arms and legs moving in sleek synchronicity. Narrowed, emerald eyes focused intently on his target, judging her chances of escapes, following her movements carefully. If she moved slightly, he froze - waiting patiently to advance closer. If she looked his way, he pushed himself closer to the rooftop, sinking into invisibility.

His heartbeat felt like it stalled in his ribcage, waiting for the lunge. Her breathing grew louder as he approached, his night-vision cutting through the dark to find her form in the shadows. She smelled of fear, the air around her quivering, making the hairs on his arms tingle with anticipation. She would be his.

Muscles along his back, his arms, his legs all tensed tightly as he braced himself for the launch, thoughts already racing to the kill, to the reward. As he released, she flew, racing away from him into the night. It was too late, he knew, for her to escape, and fangs began to drip in anticipation.

He gave chase, never letting her get far from his sight, herding her where he wanted her to go. She realized the mistake quickly as her body slammed into a wall and left her trapped without an escape. Turning to face him, she whirled the yo-yo she cherished wildly - an attempt at a shield from his attack. He paced eagerly back and forth on all four of his limbs, more feral than human in stance and behaviour.

Her throat bobbed as she gulped down her panic, her eyes steeling again in determination. His own heart leapt in response. Yes. Fight. It made him wild with want. To grab and tear.

Her yell of "Lucky Charm" and the yo-yo thrown into the night sky sent him into action, leaping strongly at her and slamming her into the wall just as she caught whatever it was her magic had conjured in one of her hands.

Using one arm to pin her still, the other hand sunk its claws into her shoulder, somehow managing to puncture the suit. He trembled with barely contained frenzy as he slowly moved the claws down, leaving deep tears in her flesh. She let out a cry followed by a low hiss, trying to pull herself away from the pain.

His eyes were untamed, a storm of green emotions as he watched the pain contort her face. Yes. This. This was so much better than a simple win. He could have done that, but this was what he craved. What he needed. A shiver tore up his spine.

Blood began to pool around the claws that dug into her arm, pulling his attention away from her features. He pressed the nails deeper, satisfied with the resulting whimpering gasp. Before he could think, his teeth were against the side of her neck, grazing the skin. One bite and he could rip her throat, claim his kill, take his prize.

"No!" yelled the voice in his head, a weakness in a time of strength. A vicious growl escaped his lips as pain shot through his blood, pulsing out from his ring and through his body. Not now. That child had nothing, no power, no chance. He shoved the weakling back down into his cage, determined to win.

Suddenly, he was assaulted with a blast of overwhelming scent that filled his nostrils and scratched at his throat. His eyes burned and blind by the impact. Some kind of spice, he supposed, hidden in the item from her lucky power. He coughed, gagging, pulling his claws from her arm to rub helplessly at his eyes.

Her hands were against him, shoving him out of her way. He snarled, lashing out his claws. Grasping something solid, he pulled. She yelped loudly, stumbling slightly before pulling back. Her precious yo-yo… he yanked hard, feeling it give way and stay within his grasp.

The pain searing his eyes, he gasped to breathe as she ran. He could hear the sound of footfall against the asphalt as she bolted away, a slight echo of her earrings beeping against the bricks of the walls. He roared, following the sound until it vanished and he fell to the ground to claw his eyes, to try and get the singeing out of his nose, to free his throat from the dry and burning ache.

He growled loudly in frustration when the yo-yo faded. She must have changed back. Despite the spices that plagued him, he shuffled to his feet, forcing himself to keep moving the direction he had heard her escape.

Soon.

* * *

Marinette tumbled to the ground as her transformation faded with a flash of brilliant light, a painful hiss escaping her lips as she grasped onto her injured shoulder. Fishing through her pink purse that she always wore slung across her body, she found a cookie for Tikki, urging her to eat it as quickly as possible. She would need to transform as fast as possible. Chat would be on her tail. His angry snarls following her as she'd escaped, finally fading behind.

Tikki skipped her usual daintiness, chomping through large chunks of her treat without concern for crumbs or elegance. Propping herself against a wall, wishing she had more time, Marinette dragged her phone from her purse and frantically sent a group message to the team, noting her location. Instantly Alya replied. A location.

"I'm ready," breathed Tikki, eyes wide and jittery. Phone shoved back in place, they fused, Ladybug's suit rejuvenated, covering and protecting the injuries beneath. A silent sigh of relief passed through her at the familiar weight of the yo-yo on her hip.

A sneezing cough down the path drew Ladybug's attention and she froze, listening.

Suddenly, he was there.

She could feel where he was more than see him. Pushing her back harder against the brick wall behind her, she froze, holding her breath in panic. He was so close the hair on her arms was tingling. Certain her pounding heartbeat could be heard in the nighttime silence, she closed her eyes and willed herself to be one with the wall.

He would find her. She knew it.

She could feel his breath heating the air near her cheek. Mentally praying with urgent fervour, she silently clenched her jaw.

"I know you are here," his voice whispered roughly beside her ear. He huffed, a sound rife with irritation. She cracked open one eye a sliver and almost shuttered with the realization he was almost pressed up against her. There was no escape now. It was going to be too late. His claws would slowly slip against her throat and she would be done.

Abruptly, he threw himself backwards and hissed in frustration.

"Come out!" he snarled, swishing one hand in her general direction but missing her only by inches.

Sensing this as her only opportunity to escape, she bolted, forcing her legs into instant action despite the agony they screamed in return. No time for that now. She must run. Or she would die.

Behind her, he bellowed his rage and clamoured noisily to follow.

Her lungs were on fire. She had to run, had to.

'Keep moving!' she screamed at herself, desperately trying to make a plan, any plan, that might save her from this. Nothing. There was nothing. She had done everything she could. Her last attack had left him without his immediate sight and keen sense of smell but that would be almost over. All she had left was to run. Run until she couldn't any longer. Until he caught her. Until….

He was gaining. She could tell by the steps pounding behind her and the ragged breathing that filled the air. Closer. Too close. She forced her mutinying body to keep moving.

A sudden and unexpected flash of light sparked to her left and she threw herself onto the ground painfully, rolling hard before coming to a jarring stop under a bush. She heard him scream and looked out to see him rear back his head and claw angrily at the air around him. His arm was pierced with a lightly feathered dart which he ripped out and threw viciously to the ground. Across from her, she could faintly make out two figures. One was red, the other green. They stood tense, on the defensive, prepared to react to the beast if he attacked.

Gasping for the air that her lungs craved, she lay there, her body refusing to move.

He continued to roar and fight with the power of the wild animal he was. His eyes narrowed on the team that approached him tentatively in somewhat terrified silence. She watched in horror as his claws sunk into the arm of the closest hunter. The man in green pulled away quickly, releasing his limb from the grasp. The beast was going down, snarls turning into sleepy growls before he collapsed to the ground.

The minute he was still, the team moved quickly, tying his arms and legs before dragging him to the back of a waiting van.

Grunting slightly, she pushed herself to her feet and forced herself to join them. Everything hurt. She dropped to the ground beside the van, still waiting for her heart to return to its normal rhythm instead of this angry, racing beat.

"You ok?" a voice beside her said softly as an arm carefully slid across her shoulders for comfort. She nodded slightly and the arm squeezed in response.

"We need to move. Can you get in?" her friend murmured, reaching across to pull open the door near her head. Nodding again, she dragged herself to the seat and pulled the door closed. She leaned back in the chair, taking some slow deep breaths.

She was alive. Barely.

It took so much of her willpower not to turn around and look at him. Right now she had to focus. They weren't done yet.

* * *

The van lurched to a skidding stop and she grit her teeth. Back to action. Everyone moved at once, jumping from their seats and out onto the pavement. She followed and moved to the back of the vehicle where he was being held. She didn't want to look but she had to. They were counting on her. This was something she had to do. Everyone knew that was the fact of it.

Steel resolve glinted in her eyes as she reached forward to grab him. He was still unconscious, head bobbing gently as she pulled him out and threw him over her shoulder. He was heavier than she had expected. A single grunt escaped her as she followed the other members of the team to building in front of them. They had all agreed this was the best plan, even though it made her want to throw up and cry hysterically. How could she be doing this? For one brief moment, she almost gave in to her secret plan of taking him and running. Her step faltered and she staggered slightly under his weight.

A hand gently touched her back in silent encouragement. Taking a slight breath and shaking her head as if to dislodge the fleeting thought she kept moving, plodding forward through the waiting door.

The room they had set up was bare other than a simple mattress tossed on the floor with a single pillow and a pile of blankets. It was safer this way. Safer for him. For them. For her.

Gently, she lowered his body onto the mattress and took a slow step back, crouched at floor level.

For the first time, she allowed herself to take a look at him.

Oh, how deceiving that look could be. Her heart twisted painfully as she studied his sleeping face. So peaceful and childlike, a soft smile on his lips. His blond hair lay messily across his brow and, without a thought, she reached over and gently brushed it to the side. His reaction was unexpected. A soft sigh and unconscious turn of his head into her hand.

"Oh, Chat. What did he do to you?" she whispered painfully.

Suddenly, his eyes slammed open and she threw herself backwards, crashing onto the floor with a startled gasp. Her blue eyes locked with his green ones and she couldn't move. Those emerald eyes that once looked at her with love now rent through her soul with more malice and hate than she could even fathom. It tore her in two. He let out a low and rumbling growl.

"Chat…" she gasped, and his eyes narrowed slightly. The growl increased in volume.

Hands grabbed her and started dragging her to the door, pulling her away from the wild beast in the room.

"MOVE!" yelled a voice, half dragging her scrambling body to her feet. She made herself obey. She willed herself through that door and listened to them slam it behind her. Then she broke.


	9. Captured

The tiled floor was cold against her cheek where she lay limply, sobbing in broken heartbreak with Tikki curled up and quivering against her arm. Every growl, every crash, every noise that resounded from the room at the end of the hallway made the girl jump, soul tearing to pieces.

"Marinette," a soft voice called from the opposite end of the hallway. Raising her head slightly and looking through tear-filled eyes, she saw Alya standing awkwardly in a doorway. "Mari, he needs you. Come on."

She didn't want to. She never wanted to move again. She just wanted to lay here and cry in solitude, listening to Chat's fury unleash in his cage. Unwanted hands pulled her shoulders, forcing her to sit up. Hazel eyes pierced through the haze of her vision, willing her to focus.

"I know this is hard, Marinette. I know. But we have to save him. We need you." Alya's voice was persistent, calling for focus and sanity. Marinette shook her head slightly, trying to clear the fuzz that crowded in, wincing a little as another loud roar erupted from her partner. "Please?"

Carefully, Marinette pulled Tikki's trembling body close to her heart and pushed herself to her feet. Dark hair that had torn loose of its ribboned pigtails stuck against her wet cheeks, plastered there in silent rebellion of normalcy. Marinette didn't care.

She padded softly after Alya, who led her to a room with a table and some chairs. There sat the rest of the team - Nino, Chloe, Master Fu - all looking at her with worried eyes that echoed the emptiness inside her own. With a sigh, Marinette sunk into a seat, placing Tikki gently onto the table. Nino slid a chocolate chip cookie over to the kwami who smiled slightly before taking a small bite. The rest of the kwamis rushed over to her and huddled around their little red friend, murmuring together quietly.

Marinette met Master Fu's eyes.

"While bringing him here, I took a chance to look at Chat Noir up close. We were right that his ring will not come off. But there was something unusual. I don't think that Hawkmoth just akumatized him. I think there is something more going on," the old man explained. He gestured slightly to the laptop that was on the table. "I will search through the pictures we took of the book that we found to see if we can find any answers."

Everyone nodded solemnly in understanding.

"What about Cataclysm?" asked Chloe, flipping her golden hair. "Can he use it more than once? Because I don't want to get squashed by bricks out here in the middle of nowhere."

"I wrapped a few layers of cloth around his hand and sealed it with magic," admitted Master Fu, obviously having thought more ahead than Marinette had. "He won't be able to claw it off with his other hand. If he uses cataclysm, it should only affect one layer at a time. I'm not sure how much energy he would have left if he used it multiple times in a row." The Guardian frowned unhappily.

"So what do we do now?" asked Marinette quietly. Alya's arm pulled her friend closer to her side in silent support.

"Give me time, Ladybug. I know that you are worried about your partner. It will be hard, but you have to wait while I see what I can find out." His eyes were gentle with sad understanding, appealing to the gaping hole that felt like it had settled into her heart. With a silent nod, she pushed her chair back from the table and padded to the door, Alya scrambling behind.

The hallway was too painful - listening to the sounds of a captured animal screaming in anger tearing at her like nails on a chalkboard.

"Let's look at your shoulder," Alya said, steering Marinette away from the hall and to a bathroom further away from the noise. Sitting on the toilet seat, Marinette tried to pull her t-shirt off, grimacing as the fabric stuck and pulled at partially scabbed wounds. Alya helped slide the cotton over her head and surveyed the damage with a concerned frown. In silence, she soaked a paper towel and began to dab carefully at the injuries to clean them.

"Stay here," she ordered Marinette when she'd finished, bolting out the door. Marinette was too numb, too tired, too lost to go anywhere anyway. She sat staring blankly at the floor of the bathroom. Alya returned quickly, her hands full and Tikki on her shoulder. Silence filled the room as Alya gently treated the marks on Marinette's shoulder and bandaged them before helping stretch a clean shirt over the heroine's head. Tikki rubbed against Marinette's cheek in empathy as her chosen just stayed stuck in her thoughts.

It was Alya who finally managed to pull her out of the daze.

"Talk to me, Mari," begged her best friend, crouching down to eye level and gently rubbing Marinette's arms. "What are you feeling?" Her voice was more gentle than usual, asking without prying. When Marinette finally raised her bloodshot eyes to look at her friend, the hazel eyes that searched back weren't full of the spitfire determination that she was known for but instead showed empathy. Marinette wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

"I don't know," admitted the petite girl, dropping her head into her hands, partly to take a private moment to try and pull herself together and partly to hide from the emotions that were rampaging through her. "I - I…" How could she ever explain how it felt to have your soul torn in two and watch the other half try destroying you. Romance or not, she and Chat shared more than a partnership. They were two parts of a whole and without him, she felt lost.

"I love him, Alya," she allowed herself to whisper finally. Alya raised an eyebrow, not completely shocked.

"What about Adrien?"

What about Adrien? With a sigh, Marinette knew that the friendship she shared with the blond was special, that she valued it more than any fleeting rush of childish emotion. But it wasn't the same.

"It isn't like that school girl crush kind of love, Alya. This is different." She struggled to find the words. "It's not like plastered pictures on a wall and obsessing. It is… it's like…. Like I breathe because he breathes. I don't need to see the face behind the mask because my soul KNOWS him. Like we are one piece melded together. I love Chat like I will die without him. Like as if he is my heart. And I never even knew it." Her voice broke and she cut herself off, afraid to fall into a teary-eyed mess again.

Arms encircled her, squeezing her gently, as Alya hummed quietly and Tikki pressed even closer.

Pulling a broken breath in, she fortified herself. Chat needed her to be strong and to help him break out of whatever Hawkmoth had done to him.

"Let's go check on Master Fu," Alya offered silently, weaving her fingers through those of her best friend and leading her back to the meeting room.

The hallway was eerily quiet, but Marinette let herself believe that meant Chat was resting peacefully.

Master Fu and the team were crowded around the laptop screen, chattering quietly. The screen glowed a sickly shade of green, the image of a vial filled with liquid oozing with the same colour filling the space. The word etched across the vial made Marinette's stomach twist painfully. Poison.

Discussions began as the guardian explained his discovery. Hidden within the tome were instructions on a powerful potion, an elixir which merged with a miraculous could be used to bind the animal to the wearer. Never intended for evil, the creator of such a spell had planned it to be used for a temporary boost of power in the case of an emergency. However, combined with the darkness of Hawkmoth's Akuma, Chat Noir had not only succumbed to the darkness but also to the wild cat that Plagg represented. The poison sounded like it made Chat less responsive to Hawkmoth's control, allowing for the wildness to take over and guide the afflicted miraculous holder instead. Feeding off rage, the aggressive panther-like creature was growing more vicious and strong the longer the poison sat in his veins.

A cure was possible, but the questions of how to gather the unique ingredients needed and how exactly they could administer it to him bounced around. Once freed from the poison, they still had to break Chat out of his akumatization. One problem at a time.

Marinette sat, disconnected, listening to the rest of the team delegate the needed tasks to collect ingredients. She felt hollow. Useless.

The room cleared, other than Master Fu, who gently clicked shut his laptop and sat forward in his chair to examine her in silence.

"You are stronger than you realize, Ladybug." The voice was soothing, comforting.

"Not right now, I'm not," she whispered, head cradled by her arms as she rested against the table. The only response was a quiet grunt.

A door slamming woke Marinette with a jolt, the feeling of confusion flashing through her before reality crashed in. Stretching, she turned to find the rest of the team barreling into the room with their arms full of various supplies, including some food. Her belly rumbled in response, making Alya chuckle before passing her a sandwich. Chloe complained loudly about needing to eat something so common before taking a giant bite.

Nino Just shot Marinette a quick encouraging smile before joining Master Fu on the other side of the table to work on creating something. Much mixing and measuring and testing began, Wayzz supervising to two as they worked.

Excusing herself, Marinette pushed herself into the hallway, knees trembling slightly as she quietly approached the heavy metal door beyond which Chat remained trapped. Her hand pressed against the cold for a moment before she dared to do the same with her forehead. She took a slow, deep breath.

"We are coming, Chat. We will get you free." Promise breathed almost in silence, she stayed there for as long as she dared before making her way back to the room. The only thing that mattered now was one thing at a time: Cure the poison, find the Akuma, free the kitty.

After what felt like ages, a small needle filled with a blueish goo sat on the table between them all. The whole team had come up with a plan on how to administer it. One by one, they called their transformations, taking their planned places in the hallway before pushing open the door.

Carapace was in first, shield raised high in defense as Ladybug and Queen Bee pressed in behind. Rena took the back, flute song already throwing into action copies of themselves into the room.

A deep hiss emerged from the middle of the room as they entered, the door shutting behind them. From her location behind Carapace's shield, Ladybug gripped the needle tightly in her hand, primed and ready. She couldn't see where he was in the room but Carapace spun them all around suddenly, the mirage following their movements.

The attack was hard, hitting them fast. Carapace grunted loudly as he stood his ground, protecting the three of his teammates with the shield. A roar shook the room, and a blur of black hurled itself over their heads. Turning again quickly, Carapace braced for the follow-up attack, which never came. Instead, Rena went flying across the room and landed heavily against the wall with a loud yelp. The mirages around the room flitted away like dust as she crumpled to the ground. Chat moved to grab her but Carapace acted faster, shouting out his power to create a protective cover over her before Chat could reach her. Snarling, the cat smashed his exposed claw against the shield.

Ladybug launched her yo-yo, attempting to snare him with the wire. The jerk the line gave when he caught it and pulled caused her to stumble towards him. Allowing the momentum of the movement to send her clattering to the floor, Chat pounced with a growl. Rolling quickly, Ladybug managed to get onto her back before he landed, claws outstretched to tear her earring from her ear.

A flash of yellow burst behind him - a sign that Queen Bee was in action, top whirling towards Chat with a quiet call of "Venom." Suddenly he froze, hand still raised, teeth still bared, eyes still narrowed. Quickly pulling the needle out from under him, Ladybug jabbed it into his neck, wincing slightly at the sensation of piercing through his skin, and used her thumb on the plunger to release the liquid into his system. A streak of jagged blue lines rushed over the skin that was visible above his suit.

Whispering her apologies, begging for him to come back to her, she gently caressed his cheek for a moment before removing the needle and wiggling free.

"Won't last much longer," warned Queen Bee, already making her way to the door. Carapace scooped Rena in his arms and followed closely behind.

Already Chat was showing signs of the paralysis wearing off, trailing Ladybug with his eyes as she hurried to the door, a twitch of his lips teamed with a low rumble.

One at a time the team slid through the door to the waiting hallway. Carapace yanked it shut behind them, sliding the bolt across the lock in a fluid, swift manner.

Now all they could do was wait. Ladybug flopped to the floor beside where her best friend was starting to rouse, and leaned against the door. The growling began from inside.

_Please, Chat. Fight. I need you. _


	10. Strife

The rush of cold seeping through his skin was the first thing Chat felt as he watched them scramble out the door and seal it with a loud clang. Anger, frustration, and some confusion washed over him as his body slowly became his own again, a roar escaping his lips as he angrily smashed against the wall.

How dare they?

Clamping his free hand to his neck where the injection had pinched, he growled. The frigid chill of whatever they had driven into him was spreading like frost on a winter's glass - slowly, etching against his skin in a beautiful pattern of agony. His stomach churned, whether from the drug or from his anger, he couldn't be sure. Rage boiled dangerously close to the surface, threatening to burn the frost.

He could smell her. There. Behind the door, just out of reach. Slamming his body against the metal so hard that it shook, he took twisted pleasure in the whimper he heard from the other side. His panther roar was sharp and violent then, yelling at the door with all his might, followed by ears twitching as he listened to the resulting rustle of feet moving away.

A call of Cataclysm escaped, bubbling away at the layers of the fabric that trapped his powerful hand, draining him of energy without releasing the folds. He screamed it again, watching helplessly as his hand remained trapped despite the sensation of another layer crumbling in his power. Too weak in power to try again, he wobbled a little, collapsing to all fours.

Unable to control the way that his body felt, he paced the room on jerky arms and legs, a low growl rumbling in his chest as he breathed in short, harsh breaths. He paused when his body heaved, dispelling any contents of his stomach onto the floor with a wet splat until he had nothing left. A quick swipe of the back of his trembling hand against his mouth cleared the evidence from his body as the cold sensation tingling all the way to his feet. It was hard to breathe, his heart throbbing in irregular and caustic behaviour.

Slowly, he dragged himself to the centre of the room where the mattress lay and dropped himself onto it with an angry growl. It felt like he was being frozen alive. Claws weakly scratched against his neck in defiance - whatever they had done to him was burning him with cold, singeing his blood and he screamed. The echo of the sound off the cement walls filled his ears and doubled the agony.

Curling up in a ball, hands clamped on his ears, he whimpered, the sound not quite human. The tail behind him lashed back and forth - an external reaction to the internal agony. It could have been hours, minutes, seconds. He couldn't tell.

Finally, finally, the searing cold began to escape. He could feel it misting out of the ends of his fingers, his toes, his hair, his heart returning to its normal pattern, no longer needing to gasp for air.

He let himself relax and his mind float away as he succumbed to the need for sleep, visions of spotted red earring filling his dreams.

* * *

"It needs to be me!" Marinette yelled, slamming her hands on the table as she stood up, eye burning. Nino winced a little at the violence of her reaction but stood firm in his space against the wall on the other side of the room.

"No, Marinette, I think I should be the first one to go in there. He's after your earrings. He's unpredictable. We can't risk it." His voice was calm, a marked difference between the two as they argued who would be first to try and visit their teammate.

A soft sob and clenched fists were the only indications that she'd heard him.

"Listen, Mari. Nino's right-" began Alya, moving closer to her friend. Marinette whirled towards her, teeth clenched.

"NO!" she shouted, her voice sharp. "This is not up for debate. Chat is MY partner. Not yours." Her finger poked into Alya's shoulder before turning towards Nino. "Not yours." Pointing to Chloe, she sneered, "And definitely not yours."

"I have to be first. I have to be." With that, her bravado wore off and she deflated, crumbling back into her seat with her head flopped forward and eyes closed, taking steady deep breaths to calm herself. "Please."

The room was silent for a few minutes as the rest of the team communicated with each other without words.

"Fine," agreed Nino finally. "But I come with you. That way if he goes crazy again, I can protect you. Got it?" Marinette agreed.

* * *

He was asleep when they entered, features smoothed into child-like innocence. For a moment, her heart was hopeful. Maybe he'd already fought off the Akuma.

Peeking over to Carapace for approval, she made her way closer, crouching beside him and gently reaching out to touch his cheek.

"Chat?" Her voice was soft and gentle. His cat ears twitched and he groaned softly as his eyes fluttered open.

"Ladybug?"

"Hi," she answered, tears pricking at her eyes. "It's me."

He pushed himself up slightly, leaning on one arm as the other clutched his head with another sound of complaint.

"What happened?" he asked, eyes shut tightly. "Where are we?"

"You were poisoned, kitty. Hawkmoth tried to hurt you. You were akumatized so we brought you somewhere safe for now. How do you feel?"

"Terrible," he admitted, opening one eye to look at her more closely. "Did you get the Akuma?"

Her frown gave the answer away before she could answer and he looked surprised. Her hand stretched out to touch him in reassurance.

In slow motion, she watched his pupils narrow into thin lines, his hand reaching out to grab her with a vice-like clamp and a snarl. She heard the echo of his attack call moments after he yelled it, jerking back far too slowly to have protected herself if he hadn't been bound with cloth. Carapace's shield smashed against Chat's forearm that held her in a death grip, causing him to let go with a yelp. Instantly she was wrapped in a green bubble.

"As soon as my hand is free, I'm using that on you." Cold. Threatening. A promise. With a shiver, she begged him again to fight, to break the Akuma. She swore for just a moment his eyes flashed with understanding before he jumped at them both again. Carapace dragged her out the door and sealed it shut before releasing both the barrier and the breath that he had been holding.

"Let me back in there, Carapace! We have to get through to him. Please!" she begged, struggling to get past him, to open the door, to get her partner back.

"No." Arms crossed his chest, he took up a sentinel's guard in front of the door, refusing to let her pass. Angry tears filled her eyes as she pounded on his chest in frustration.

Finally, Tikki dropped the transformation and Alya pulled Marinette back to the meeting room.

"One thing at a time, Marinette," reminded Tikki. "This isn't going to be easy, but we got through the poison, right? We need time to get through to him." Dropping a cookie in front of her chosen, Tikki grabbed one for herself. "Eat. Let's try to get energy up for when he needs us again."

The rest of the day consisted of the team taking turns trying to speak to him from the safety of a sheltered bubble that Nino held over the door each time. Even Master Fu attempted it, a mirage in place to protect his identity from the potential sight of Hawkmoth through the Akuma's eyes. For one brief moment, Chat froze hearing the voice of his mentor, grabbing his head and shaking it violently as if he was fighting against the controlling sounds in his brain, but that too failed, resulting in another use of cataclysm. Marinette wondered how many layers of cloth were left bound to his hand.

It turned out not to be many as he repeatedly and violently used his special ability to burn his way through the binding, despite the weakness that resulted from multiple use. Ladybug was standing in the doorway, calling Chat to come back to them, when the bubbles appeared on his hand, claws giving a test wiggle now that they were free.

Eyes twinkled in excitement one second before he raced at the magical shield, slamming his body against it before pressing his hand against the wall with a dark chuckle. His feet pushed off the green barrier launching himself high into the air, through the now crumbling building roof. Lithe footsteps found their way over the walls before they vanished into dust, freeing him from his trap and into the night. The sound of wild laughter echoed behind him as he disappeared into the darkness of the newly fallen night.

* * *

Freedom, Chat supposed, was relative. Out of the cage and into the night, he was free, and yet - still trapped. Trapped by this confusing need to do the bidding of a madman no matter how hard he tried to fight back.

His feet ran faster than he'd ever run before, driving him away from the pile of ash he had created and back to the city. She would follow him - he knew - her need to help everyone would pull her to his side. They were two parts of a whole, after all. He could feel her struggle to keep herself from tipping over to his requests. That bleeding heart of hers would make it easy to grab her earrings.

The voice of his father rang through his head, yelling at him to make a plan, promising a surge of renewed power. He felt it course through him, bubbling at his fingertips even without the need for the special call. A grin split his face as he ran his fingers against the building he ran beside, watching as they tore through the brick-like butter, the sound of devastation crackling behind him. Perfect.

He ran, pushing himself faster, eyes focused on the sight of the Eiffel Tower. There is where he would draw her out. There is where he would win, earrings claimed. There is where he could get his mother back and make his father proud. There is where he could be the hero.

The thought urged him forward, leaving behind him a wake of destruction.


	11. Confrontation

"Go." Master Fu's voice was insistent, ordering them to leave him behind and chase the cat back to the city. Ladybug opened her mouth to argue but he cut her off with a single look. "Now."

With a nod, she took off, yo-yo whirring as she threw it to the rooftops and pulled herself along. She could hear Queen Bee on her tail. Rena and Carapace wouldn't be far behind, she was sure.

Closing in quickly on the city, Ladybug felt a small twinge of panic. Something felt wrong. Sounds of sirens intermingled with yelling and crying when her feet hit the rooftops on the outskirts of town. Skidding to a halt, she took in the sight, Queen Bee nearly slamming into her.

The skyline was a mix of smoke and ash, lit up only by a variety of small fires and streetlights. Buildings had half-collapsed with power lines torn from their poles and pulsing with electricity as they dangled loosely over streets. Covered in dust, blood, and soot, the people of Paris were struggling to pull each other from the rubble as emergency vehicles attempted to help the most seriously injured.

"Oh, God," gasped Queen Bee, hand clamping over her mouth with her crystal blue eyes wide in shock. "He did all this." Ladybug nodded solemnly, disbelief stuck in her brain as she threw herself into the fray below to help pick a chunk of building off a man on the street. Nausea threatened to take her over but she shoved it down.

"We have to save him, so I can fix all this," she cried as Rena and Carapace appeared behind her. Together the four pressed forward, following the trail of havoc through town - directing them to the tower in the heart of the city. Of course, he would pick the tower. It was their favourite spot. It seemed fitting.

He stood on the third platform, eyes alight with power and determination and his hand pulsing with dark power. Warning the team to be careful, they clambered up the building to stand on the opposite side of the platform. He kept his back to them, proudly surveying the scene of Paris in chaos.

"Chat. Please. You need to fight Hawkmoth. He is just using you to get what he wants. Please. We need you. I need you. Come back to me, Kitty."

He turned to look at her, green eyes glowing brightly in the night.

"You know nothing, little bug." The snarled words wrapped around her, squeezing her heart. "I'm letting him use me. I'm helping him. Just give me the earrings and this will be over."

"I can't do that, Chat. Please."

* * *

Deep within, he could hear himself quietly begging to break out. 'Fight it. Listen to her,' it called, pulling on the cage bars with desperation. In contrast, Hawkmoth yelled in his head, screaming at him to grab the earrings. Shaking his head of all the noise, he braced himself for the impact of the team that was running towards him.

Queen Bee's top came spinning towards him and he swiped at it with his power-filled hand, seeing it evaporate to dust. She let out a cry as he grabbed the string and tangled her up against a beam with it before turning to face the next onslaught. His foot shoved him off the pillar, throwing himself into the air to land heavily on Carapace, knocking him to the ground and yanking the shield from the turtle's arm before launching it full force into Rena's stomach. In the middle of raising the flute to her lips, she grunted instead, thrown back. Chat's hand pulled the flute from her fingers, snapping it across his knee and tossing it to the side before charging shoulder-first into her body. She went flying, nearly toppling off the edge, only saved when Carapace threw his magic shield out behind her to create a wall to stop the fall.

Unable to remove Rena from the battle, Chat grabbed her by the wrist and swung her around to slam into Carapace, who was forced to drop his protective shield to grab her instead. Dodging Ladybug's yo-yo, Chat turned to face her as she leapt into the air towards him.

He braced his legs for the impact and let her land her punch on his chest, a loud grunt escaping him at the motion.

The voices in his head yelled louder. One begging him to stop, the other urging him to continue. Silencing them with a roar, he knocked her to the ground just as she screamed for her Lucky Charm and caught something shiny. Her head hit the floor hard, and she yelped before she tried to scramble away from him.

From behind, Carapace's shield hit Chat squarely across his back, making him stumble forward. Chat rolled out of it and spun, kicking hard against the turtle's legs to throw him off balance before tearing the shield off him again and frisbeeing it off the side of the tower. Grabbing the boy in green by the foot, Chat dragged him to where Rena was trying to untangle Queen Bee. Making angry eye contact with her, Chat slammed his renewed Cataclysm into the ground beneath them, creating a hole in the floor that sent them toppling down the tower to the platform nearly 600 feet below. Queen Bee screamed as the two teammates disappeared.

Chat jumped backwards from the gap before it consumed him, turning quickly to where Ladybug had managed to get to her feet. The tears in her eyes gave him pause for only a moment before he pounced on her. Shoving her against one of the tower's beams with a growl, he was surprised at the calm look on her face as she slowly raised her Lucky Charm in front of her. A mirror. The face that stared back at him didn't look like him at all. It was wild, an animal. Stumbling backwards slightly, he grabbed his head, listening to the words war within himself.

_Fight. Fight her. Fight him. Break free. Take the earrings. Make me proud, my son. _

The voices screamed, louder and louder. Her voice entered the mix, speaking softly to him, pleading with him to come back to her. Confusion swirled, making him sink to the floor as he sunk his claws into his scalp.

"STOP!" he bellowed, anger flaring up again. Hands reached out and grasped Ladybug by the ankles, dragging her down to the floor. A claw swiped at her ear, drawing blood but missing the earring.

_She's your partner. You love her. Let her go!_

"NO!" Snarls escaped him as he tried to focus on his task, stuffing the voice of himself down deeper and telling Hawkmoth in no uncertain terms to get out of his head. Ladybug had seen the weakness though and was using it for herself, kicking her legs free and jumping without hesitation off the side of the tower.

He scrambled to his feet and threw himself off right behind her, baton over his head like a helicopter as he attempted to keep up with the crimson blur against the chaos of the night. This time, she would be his.

* * *

This was it. This time she was going to lose. Ladybug willed herself to run faster, to get somewhere safe, but he was right behind her, keeping up. He always had been fast. She needed to find a way out of this.

Even as her earrings beeped with a warning, she knew it was going to have to be a plan that involved transforming. Off to the side stood a large group of people around one particularly chaotic building collapse. Making a snap decision, she leapt into the midst of the group, crouching low to stay as hidden as possible before running to the subway stairs nearby. Gasping for air, she wiggled herself off the platform edge and into the tunnel walkway where she let herself drop the transformation. Tikki buzzed out of her earrings and collapsed into Marinette's waiting hands. The two stood quietly for a moment, waiting to see if Chat would follow them down the tunnel, but it remained safe.

"We're going home, Tikki," Marinette told her. "I have a plan."

Tikki did not like the plan. It involved being Marinette and trying to talk to Chat out of the suit since he kept reacting so violently her superhero persona. Maybe her civilian self would have better luck. The trip back to the bakery had been filled with a series of seriously worded speeches from the little red kwami, but ultimately, Marinette was the one who decided the plan.

Racing to her room, she tore off her bloodied shirt and changed into a clean one, madly scrubbing the blood off her ear and dirt off her face. Scrambling through the skylight hatch, she forced herself to slow her breathing and lean against the railing, seemingly peering at the destruction across Paris.

It wasn't long until Chat came into view on the rooftops. Tikki dove into Marinette's shirt, staying close in case she was needed, but out of sight.

Marinette felt her heart lurch and stutter as she reached up a hand to wave at him. Silent prayers spoken, she called his name, attempting to look excited instead of terrified. He paused on his mission, eyeballing her briefly before vaulting the gap between the houses to reach her balcony.

"Hi, Chat. Do you know what is going on? Is there another fire or something? " she chirped, hoping he didn't notice the waver in her voice. He seemed distracted, crouching low on the ground near her, shaking his head repeatedly like as if his fur were wet. He eyed her sharply, fangs bared with a growl, leaning into her space with hot breath and curiosity.

"Something like that." She tried to control the panic that clawed at her throat. She watched as his features smoothed, eyes widening into his usual soft ones. He breathed her name, confused, before the sneer came back.

"Is something wrong, Chat?" Of course something was wrong, she screamed to herself. He wants to kill you. Tikki rustled slightly in her hiding spot. Over attend over, the two parts of chat wrestled with himself, fluctuating between insanity and normalcy. "Are you ok?"

He didn't answer with much more than a growl at first, shaking his head violently. His eyes snapped to her face, lucid once more, pleading, panicked.

"Help."

Eyes wide, she begged him to fight, collapsing to the floor beside him and taking hold of his hands. He groaned, pulling them from her grasp and clutching at his hair. Over and over he moaned a single word, "No."

She didn't know how to help him, other than to keep encouraging him to push past Hawkmoth and refuse his control. A sharp laugh broke through her words, cutting her off as he snapped his head up again, eyes wild. "Cataclysm." The single word spoken low ignited a terror inside her. In horror, she watched as his right hand bubbled. Tikki was panicking, Marinette knew from the fluttering of the limbs against her skin.

Somehow, Marinette found the will to act, reaching forward and grabbing Chat by his bell, drawing him close enough before smashing her lips against his.


	12. Freedom

The sensation of warm lips against his startled him, freezing his brain. Chat's bubbling hand dropped and he slowly moved it behind him - away from her. Pulling away slightly, her grasp on his bell released as her eyes fluttered open with a desperate look of hope. He didn't know how to feel, who to be, who to listen to. The voices were all calm right now, a product of his shock he supposed. A pink glow flashed across her cheeks and she looked away in embarrassment, muttering words of apology before taking a small step backwards.

His voice cracked when he softly spoke her name, feeling the burning power of his cataclysm fading to nothing by sheer will. She looked up at him in surprise, eyes wide. His gaze fell on her lips - pink and soft, slightly open as if she was needing to breathe in more air. Returning his eyes to stare at her blue ones, he blinked slowly - trying to restart his brain, to feel anything.

Another blink. The voices still hadn't returned, at least not enough to take claim of him again. He was free. A moment of elation followed a moment of panic. He looked at the ring, a feeling of control returning slowly. Reaching out with his other hand, he gave it a test, pulling gently and letting out a long breath when it moved.

Freedom was in sight. He needed Ladybug. She could get this damned Akuma out. There was a the back of his thoughts, trying to get back out. Hawkmoth coldly ordered him to grab the miraculous. No.. his Father demanded that of him. Chat frowned, shaking his head to push that voice as far away as possible.

Raising his eyes to Marinette's, he smiled before grabbing her arms, causing her to emit a small surprised squeak. "Thank you." He meant it, more than anything. Welled with tears, her eyes sparkled a brilliant blue even in the darkness of the night. Impulse drove him and, without real thought, he found his lips pressed against hers again, pulling life and hope from her as he fought to maintain primary control.

Feelings swirling and a track of wetness down his cheeks, he forced himself to lean back and let her go.

"I'm sorry. I-" His words caught in his throat. "I didn't mean to do that. I'm sorry. I have to go. I have to find Ladybug." She gave him a small, hopeful smile and nodded. Not trusting himself to last much longer, he bounded from the railing of her balcony and jumped to the rooftop across from hers. Hawkmoth yelled. The Akuma growled. But he shoved them out, feet flying.

Was she still at the tower? Had she left? Panic filled him slightly as he raced through the city, a terrifying level of guilt gnawing at his heart as he realized the damage that he had caused. He needed her now.

Only Ladybug could save him.

* * *

Marinette could barely hold herself up anymore, watching as Chat raced out of view. Trembling hands held against her lips, tears streaking, mind numb, she tried to process what had just happened while leaning heavily on the protective bar of her terrace. It took a moment to realize that Tikki was screaming in her face, calling her name over and over.

Blinking rapidly to bring herself back from the edge of the confusion that she worried was trying to devour her, Marinette forced herself to pay attention to her closest ally.

"Sorry, Tikki. I -" she began. The kwami didn't care, urging her to transform and hurry after Chat. He needed her now more than ever. A flash of light and she was on her way, swinging and running with all her might, determined to find her kitty somewhere in the city. Her first stop would be the tower. Hopefully, they were all ok - memories of Carapace and Rena vanishing through a broken Eiffel Tower. By now, she hoped the rest of the team would be untangled, recharged and ready. She didn't have time to warn them or give them the details.

Not knowing how they were or how they would react to the arrival of Chat Noir on his own pushed her on faster.

With an extra-strong swing, she launched herself out as far as possible into the open space near the tower, rolling as she hit the pavement and skidding to a halt at the sight before her.

The team had Chat pinned submissively to the ground, held down by Carapace leaning his entire weight on his shield flat across Chat's body. Rena and Queen Bee each were stepping on a wrist. Her face angry, Rena had her flute pointed against Chat's throat while Bee's top was poised to fire a shot of paralyzing venom if needed. Her kitty's cat ears were flat against his hair, a sign that made her panic in worry.

"Wait!" Ladybug yelled, hurrying to the team and collapsing beside her partner.

"Milady," he breathed, eyes wide, pleading with her to listen. "Help. Please."

His pupils dilated slightly, and she watched in awe as he grit his teeth to fight against the pull she was sure he was battling in his head.

"I promise, please. I am me, Ladybug. I need your help to get this Akuma out. I don't know how long I can keep him out." She searched his face, hoping. "Please. The ring can come off, but you will need to get the Akuma off."

She nodded to Nino, who slowly eased off the shield slightly, looking like he half expected Chat to leap into attack mode at any moment. Rena and Queen Bee moved back, too, still on the defensive.

Chat wisely made no movement, staying perfectly still with his eyes locked on his partner.

"If I take the ring off, you will know." She understood. It would violate their rule to keep identities private - not that it mattered anymore. Not since the rest of the team already knew hers. But this wasn't how she wanted to find out. Not while he was fighting off an Akuma.

In a single movement, she was on her feet, one arm clutched to him and the other swinging them away on her yo-yo. Her friends all yelled behind her, anger and surprise filling their voices.

She ran, Chat tucked against her, until they were out of range. She stopped on a rooftop with a large chimney, releasing him on one side before moving to step to the other side, out of view. He grabbed her wrist.

"Thank you for trusting me." And he let go.

"Always, kitty."

"When you're ready, pass me the ring," she ordered, slipping around the chimney and putting her hand out the side for him to see.

There was a long pause, a rustling against cement, a few muttered words that sounded cut off and angry before a brilliant shade of green tore through the darkness. A long sigh intermingled with a low groan sounded before a shaking hand reached out with a ring pinched between fingers and dropped it in her waiting hand.

His hand. His skin. On the other side of this wall sat her partner, someone she trusted with her whole life. Someone who had fought his way back to her. She tried not to give in to the temptation to take that small step around the corner and see him.

"Are you ok?" she asked softly to which he made a quiet affirmative sound from his hiding spot before she took a moment to study the ring that lay in her palm. It was black, as expected, but it pulsed with a strange power. Never had an akumatized object felt so strong before.

Unsure how to break it open, Ladybug threw her yo-yo the air, catching a large hammer in her other hand. Placing the black ring carefully on the rooftop, she lifted the hammer high over her head in two hands, bringing it down with a wildly satisfying clunk, pieces of the shattered ring scattering around.

The Akuma broke free, fluttering madly as it attempted to escape. She took one moment to breathe deeply, the feeling of utter rage that ripped through her at the sight of this particular Akuma unusual. How dare Hawkmoth claim her sweet kitty? Pushing it aside, she took aim and tossed her weapon after the butterfly, thankful when it clasped shut.

Sliding her finger over the side of her yo-yo, it split into two and a cleaned butterfly fluttered out, heading back into the sky. Releasing the breath that she hadn't realized she' been holding, Ladybug tossed the hammer up, the swarm of ladybugs rushing around in brilliant colour.

Paris knit itself back together: destroyed homes rebuilt, power lines reattached, fires snuffed out, and - to her complete relief - historical landmarks returned to their normal glory. The ring reappeared in her hand, a brilliant silver in sharp comparison to the earlier dullness of black.

"Here," she whispered, holding the ring out to the gap, waiting for him to take it. His hand was shaking when he stretched it out, fingers coiling over the cold ring before slowly pulling it back to his side of the chimney wall.

* * *

For a moment, he simply stared at the ring innocently lying in the palm of his hand. For the first time in far too long, he felt in control of himself, not having to fight with the voices in his head. Wrapping his fingers around the ring in his hand again, he looked out to the city.

"I need a minute, Ladybug. Please." His voice was thick with emotion, making it hard to speak. "Meet me at the Eiffel Tower?" He heard her shuffle on the other side of the wall, taking a deep breath before whispering agreement. The familiar whizzing sound of her yo-yo signalled her departure, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Carefully, he slid the ring onto his finger and winced as a brilliant ball of light filled his eyes, dissolving into the shape of his kwami, Plagg. Drooping ears and an oversized yawn were the first things Adrien saw, followed by a rush of black as the little creature raced across the gap between them and clamped his limbs around Adrien's bicep.

"Are you alright, Adrien? I'm so glad you got through that," Plagg cried out, rubbing his cheek on Adrien's sleeve over and over, a soft purr escaping him. It was impossible not to smile at the rare affection shown by his kwami, instantly filling Adrien with relief.

"I will be, Plagg," he admitted, rubbing the little cat between the ears. Plagg let go and started to float.

"Good. So where's my cheese?" Searching his shirt pockets for some of Plagg's favourite treat with a slight chuckle, Adrien struggled to pull his thoughts and feelings together. A painful, hollow feeling was burning slightly through his chest as he processed all the events of the past few days.

"Hawkmoth is my father." His voice was calmer than he felt, a tinge of coldness seeping in from the disconnect he was feeling. The man that he'd worked so hard to please was nothing short of a villain - terrorizing the people of Paris. All because he wanted the Miraculous in order to try and bring his wife back from the dead. Adrien felt a tear break free from his eye and dribble down one cheek. Angry fingers brushed it off, only to let more trail behind. He shoved his palms into his sockets, willing himself to get control with a shaky breath.

_Maman_.

Visions of his mother fluttered through his mind - golden hair, green eyes, smile filling his heart, and arms that held him close. Although his father had never been a particularly affectionate man, his mother had made up for that with an abundance of love. She'd been gone for so long, but still, he could remember her joyous laughter. The thought of her being alive somewhere ached. Where was she?

Pulling his hands from his eyes, Adrien mindlessly twisted the ring on his finger - a telltale habit of stress much like the way he rubbed his neck when he felt uncertain.

"Talk to me, kid," Plagg's nasally voice broke through the tumbling thoughts in Adrien's head.

"Did you know?" Adrien asked finally, the question he needed answered the most getting brushed to the side. Plagg looked solemn, a frown appearing on his little face.

"No." Simple enough of an answer. One that seemed believable. In all likelihood, Plagg would have outed Gabriel long ago if he'd known that the man was Hawkmoth. Adrien replayed the sight of his father's transformation in his head - the cold, menacing stare haunting him.

"I can't believe he did that to me." Some father. The slow realization of how alone he truly was rippled through the young man. His mother had disappeared. His father had disconnected and left him, but also had forced such control on his son's life that Adrien only really had a handful of friends. There were too many emotions at once - a whirlpool of feelings threatening to suck him down into a black hole which he knew he couldn't escape.

Carefully, with complete intention, Adrien disconnected himself. Right now, he needed to be Chat Noir. Right now, he had to focus on completing the mission that his superhero self had been obligated to do - retrieve the butterfly miraculous from the monster who enslaved it. Later, he could give in to the darkness. Later, he could afford to be weak. But not now.

"I have to tell Ladybug and the team," he announced, noting with indifference how detached and cold his voice sounded to his own ears. Plagg must have noticed too - at least the way the little being stared at him sure seemed leery. "I know what we have to do now. We have to defeat Hawkmoth."

"Listen, kid. I know this is hard -" Plagg tried to interject, only to be cut off by a sharp look in Adrien's eyes.

"No. This is my job. Transform me." The little creature yelped angrily as he was dragged into the ring and Chat Noir appeared in Adrien's place. No longer was Chat the wild animal that he'd felt like for days, but he also wasn't the fun-loving goofball either. Devoid of all emotion, he was more focused, sharper. His suit seemed to be a reflection of that - the whimsical golden bell was gone along with the usual mischievous glint in his eyes.

Eyes that fixed themselves on the tall metal steeple in the centre of the city. Baton drawn, he threw himself into motion, mind blank as he made his way to the tower where Ladybug waited.

They were on the first platform. While the rest of the team looked at him with caution and wariness, Ladybug threw herself at him with happiness, tears in her eyes. He let her wrap her arms around his waist, her cheek on his chest as she rambled words of concern and worry.

"Are you ok, Chat?" she asked finally, raising her face to look at him. His cold, simple "yes" made her frown, searching his face for deeper clues.

"I need to tell you all what happened."

With a nod, Ladybug grabbed his hand and led him to where they all sat in a circle.

"Hawkmoth knows who I am." Might as well just lay it out straight, he figured. No elaborate story needed. "He dragged me to his lair and attacked me. I tried to fight back, but he had caught me by surprise. As you know, I lost."

He didn't like the way that Ladybug looked at him. It threatened the tight grasp he had on himself. He kept his eyes off her, thankful for the cold detachment that slid over him as he prepared the next statement.

"I know who he is. Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste."


	13. Lull

"How do you know for sure?" Rena asked, her eyes full of skepticism. Ladybug couldn't fault her that after the rough treatment he'd given them the last few days. She knew he was recovered, but there was just… something… that seemed off about her partner. She missed his happy-go-lucky demeanour.

"He transformed into Hawkmoth right in front of me when I wouldn't give him my ring."

There was a moment of silence as the team each weighed the revelation that such a prominent member of the city was, in reality, a supervillain.

"Oh, God. Adrien," whimpered Queen Bee, looking more than a little shaken up. Ladybug's eyes connected with Rena's in quiet understanding while Carapace reached out to grab his girlfriend's hands with shaking fingers.

They needed some time to process this, to recover from the fight they had all just suffered against Chat's akumatized self, to prepare themselves for the battle ahead. Nodding sharply, Ladybug decided that the team should split up and recharge before meeting up again in an hour.

Her teammates disappeared over the rooftops before Ladybug turned to face her partner who hadn't moved. Chat stood, eyes hard and jaw clenched, staring off in the direction of the Agreste mansion. A gentle touch on his arm made him stiffen and take in a sharp breath before he turned in her direction.

"Sorry," he mumbled, shifting slightly so he was out of her touch. His head hung low, eyes avoiding hers, shoulders curled. "I'm so sorry."

The crack in his voice made her wince slightly. Her kitty was hurting.

"There is nothing to be sorry for, Chat. I promise." Carefully and slowly she stretched out her fingers, worried slightly that he would run or break when she touched him again. Her hands wrapped around his biceps and she slid a step closer. He didn't move at all.

"Look at me," she whispered. She could see him squeeze his eyes shut behind his mask, trying to distance himself from her. "Please."

Slowly he raised his eyes and looked at her.

"Hey, Kitty." A ripple through his face was the only warning she had before he grabbed her and began to sob loudly and uncontrollably. He clung to her as if she was the only thing able to keep him alive, wet tears pouring over her shoulder. He shuddered, wobbling, and she decided to guide him down gently to the rooftop. Still, he held her close, unable to let her go.

The tears and heaving for air finally slowed to a calm, his breathing once more under control. His voice was raw when he spoke again.

"I hurt you." He pressed his forehead against hers. "I could see it all happening and I couldn't stop it. It was like I was trapped at the bottom of a dark well and I couldn't get out. Every time I got close to the top, I would get pushed back down. I hurt you. I am so sorry."

She brushed her fingers over his cheek and smiled, the pressure of his head touching hers soothing the ache between them.

"I am ok, Chat. I promise."

Warm air flooded against her cheek as he let out a soft breath. She waited, feeling the tension releasing from his shoulders.

"I didn't know if I could come back from that, you know. Hawkmoth -" Voice caught in his throat, Chat took a moment to recover. "He knows things about me that no one else does. He tried to use it against me."

A long pause filled the space between them.

"I'm scared, Ladybug."

Wrapping her arms tightly around him, Ladybug pulled herself as close as possible, hoping that just a little of the love that she had for him would seep through and help him find strength somehow.

"We're doing this together, Chat. We're going to take him down together so he can't ever hurt you again. I promise."

He just made this weird, pained sound like a whimper as he returned her hold. They stayed snuggled together for a while, Ladybug giving Chat some time to recover himself.

"Oh. By the way…. I think I should tell you something else." The embarrassed tone of his voice made her pull back and look at his face, a slow blush creeping across his cheeks. His eyes met hers.

"Your friend, Marinette? She - uh - she kissed me." It was all she could do not to allow a smirk curl the corners of her mouth. He looked so flustered and concerned at the same time.

"Oh?"

"And, uh - I might have kissed her back. I think that's what helped me break out of it." He paused, one hand lifting to rub the back of his neck. "I mean, every time I got close to you I would go crazy. Maybe I just needed something out of the ordinary to shock me out of it. I don't know-" She cut him off. Rambling was her thing, not his.

"It's ok, Chat. You don't have to explain anything to me. I am just thankful that you are ok." Gently, she caressed his cheek, his eyes staring into hers. She almost gave in to the sudden urge to reveal herself. But this wasn't the time. They needed to focus and she knew Chat could never do that if he was thinking about her civilian self.

As he pulled her close again, she knew for sure that she loved him. The thought of losing him ripping a hole through her heart. They belonged together - yin and yang. His dark to her light. They just needed to bring Hawkmoth down and then she could see the man behind the mask.

"Go recharge and rest. I will see you soon," she ordered, spontaneously stretching up on her toes to press a soft kiss to his cheek. He backed off with a blush and a nod, vaulting himself off to a nearby rooftop before vanishing.

Ladybug did the same, tucking herself into a secluded rooftop shadow before dropping her transformation and collapsing to the floor. Tikki took an offered cookie, eyes full of worry as her and her Chosen silently mulled over the ramifications of the upcoming confrontation.

"What about Adrien?" Marinette breathed at least, the sound melancholy to her ears. Adrien deserved better than this - his mother missing, a youth full of controlled abuse, and now the discovery that his father was the man behind years of Paris' traumas. Marinette shivered. Her friend with the golden heart deserved better. So much better.

Tikki just frowned.

"How can I protect him from this?" Marinette lamented, grabbing one of Tikki's cookies and biting into it absentmindedly.

"I don't know, Marinette."

* * *

Adrien glared at the house he had never really felt at home in from the safety of a rooftop across the way. It looked like a fortress, cold and isolating. He supposed he understood more of why now that he knew what his father was doing.

A slice of cheese being casually tossed in the air beside him pulled his attention in time to see it vanish into the black hole that was Plagg.

"What does this all mean, Plagg? I am so confused."

Plagg paused his cheese consumption long enough to frown. His partnership abilities were more suited for unfiltered sarcasm than moral support. Adrien continued to think out loud, struggling, leaving the kwami to keep down the cheese without a word.

"So Father is Hawkmoth." The edge in his voice grew cold as he admitted the truth to himself. "Does Nathalie know? Gorilla?" There was a long pause, emotions churning in his chest as he tried to process everything he had learned and experienced in the last few days. He felt betrayed. Angry. Abandoned. He really was alone now.

Except….

Mother.

"Plagg. What about my mother? What did Father mean that we could save her?" Plagg just stared at him, no words of insight spilling out of his cheese-filled mouth. "If she can be saved, she's got to be alive, right? Where is she? Why did she leave me?" A small whimper escaped Adrien as he let the feelings that he'd so carefully locked away for years seeped out.

He slammed his eyes closed, unable to look at the house anymore. It was a cold reminder of the life that he didn't want.

Pulling himself into a tight ball, knees to his chin and arms holding his legs as close as he could manage, Adrien buried his head into the darkness they offered and let the tears he'd been trying to hold back fall free.

His chest ached. He could feel all the muscles in his body tense, jaw clenched as the feeling of panic overwhelmed him. He couldn't breathe. All he could feel were the fingers of despair winding their way through his soul, squeezing all that was left of him, trying to snuff him out. This felt like too much. How much more could he take before he cracked completely? Was he destined to be lonely and broken for the rest of his life?

"I don't think I can do this," he whispered.

He didn't want to face his father again. He didn't want to have to be the one to bring the man down. For a moment, he debated the idea of just running. Running as far and as fast as he could get. But he couldn't.

Memories of warm lips on his. Marinette. Nino's laughter. Alya's exuberance. Chloe's over-enthusiastic hugs. Ladybug's face. Blue eyes full of compassion and caring. His anchor.

"You have to, kid." Plagg. Weary eyes opened to look at the black cat kwami that sat perched on Adrien's knee. "Our primary goal this whole time has been to find and defeat Hawkmoth. That's all you can do right now. You have to focus on that. That only. When he is dealt with, we can figure out the rest. You. Me. Ladybug. Together. Now, suit up and let's go."

Plagg was right. He had a job to do. Ladybug was counting on him. Untangling himself, he grit his teeth in determination, scrubbing the evidence of tears from his face with an angry motion. His ring felt heavy on his finger, and he stared at it for a moment.

His father had chosen to be Hawkmoth. It was Adrien's responsibility to stop him.

Destiny is a cruel master.


	14. Arrival

The hour set aside to recharge and prepare went faster than he'd hoped. He didn't feel ready. But maybe he never would. The team arrived together, meeting him at the designated location with admirable punctuality.

Five pairs of eyes stared at the walls of the Agreste Mansion with varying levels of anxiety.

"Adrien's not home," Chat said softly, wincing a little at how disconnected his voice sounded. Ladybug gave him a look from the side of her eye. "I checked while we were on break." He hoped she would buy it. Her nod relieved him.

"Let's go." Her command brought the team to focus and, in the cover of the night, they slipped over the protective walls. Ladybug seemed to be letting him take the lead for this, and he was thankful.

Chat turned the doorknob to the oversized front door with a creeping sense of uneasiness. He shouldn't be here. Shouldn't be doing this. But, he did - pushing the door open and leading the team inside.

It felt like an empty tomb - dark and cold. Same as always. In some ways, that was better. No emotional attachment with this place. He kept himself disconnected from it all as he made his way across the foyer to the doors that housed his father's atelier. The doors splintered loudly under the solid weight of his boot kicking against it.

A loud gasp to his left brought his attention to Nathalie. Pressed against the wall behind her corner desk, hand held tightly against her chest, she stood with her eyes wide and panicked. A steaming cup of coffee and her tablet streaming some show he didn't recognize were only the evidence of her late-night attempts to stay awake. He shot her a scathing look before grabbing her by the arm and dragging her across the room to the golden picture on the wall.

His mother. A shiver ran through him before he could contain it.

_Keep it together. _

Pulling it away from the wall, he eyed the metal safe hidden behind.

"Open it," he ordered, voice cold and authoritative. He frowned at how much like his father he sounded. Nathalie hesitated, giving him a pained look until he narrowed his eyes at her. She trembled as she entered the code and pulled open the handle. Chat released her arm, shoving her gently towards Carapace, who steadied the woman on her feet.

Everything was still where he'd seen it before - the book, the papers, the picture of his mother. With a wide sweep, he pulled the contents into his arms.

"Queen Bee. Take these to the Guardian."

She looked totally annoyed at being told what to do. But, he needed someone to get this stuff to Master Fu in case anything happened. The old man would best be able to figure out what was important and what wasn't.

"Please."

She responded better to this, tentatively reaching out to take the items from him before eyeing the team.

"You'd better not do anything stupid while I'm gone." Her ponytail whipped around as she took off running out of the house.

Seeing his childhood friend safely out the door, Chat turned his attention once again to the now-closed painting. His fingers pushed gently against the picture in the same spots his father had used, showing the team the secret elevator in the floor.

"Damn," muttered Carapace, eyeballing the lift with some semblance of appreciation. Chat didn't agree.

"One at a time. I will go first, in case…." He gave a glance at Ladybug, who nodded with understanding. "Leave Nathalie here." Another push of the buttons and he began to lower to the room from before. Dread lapped against his heart, half expecting to come face to face with his father when he reached the bottom. It was dark, and mercifully empty when he stepped off and listened to the lift make its way back to the room above. One by one, his teammates joined him, although he still couldn't seem to fully breathe.

"Where is he?" Ladybug asked, her voice soft but tense, yo-yo primed for attack. Chat felt like every nerve in his body was screaming with anxiety. This room was where his father had ruthlessly attacked him, had akumatized him, where he had succumbed to that pain. Chat squeezed his eyes shut as if he could somehow remove the memories if he just couldn't see them.

A hand slipped into his and squeezed. Ladybug.

"Breathe, Kitty." He could do that. For her.

Opening his eyes, his night vision caught a glimmer of light outlining a door hidden against a dark wall. He moved to it, giving an experimental shove and grunting slightly as it gave way under his strength. Soft light spilled into the room, calling them into the void.

It was a hallway, long and dark, metal railings guarding both sides where it overlooked a seemingly bottomless darkness. Ladybug kept on hand in his, keeping him grounded enough not to give in to the erratic panicked breathing that would accompany the pattern of his heartbeats.

Each step they took forward seemed to set off a new 2 set of soft lights, illuminating the new section of the hallway as they pushed forward, Chat leading slowly with Ladybug in hand, Rena and Carapace following behind. Not sure what to expect, their progress was slow. It seemed to stretch on forever, until, suddenly they made it to a platform.

Lit up with the same peaceful glow, the platform only contained what looked like a glass tube surrounded by a leafy garden of flowers. Chat took a step towards the tube, unsure of its purpose until everything in the world stopped. There, in the tube, was his mother. Perfect. Beautiful. Sleeping.

He didn't know how he had moved from Ladybug's side to that of his mother's, but there he was, fingers hovering over the glass as if he longed to touch her but was afraid she would vanish if he did. He couldn't breathe. His stomach rolled. A sound he didn't recognize was from himself filled the chamber, a low hollowing keening sound.

All this time. She had been here. Right here. Under his feet. And his father had known, letting Adrien mourn the loss of his beloved mother. Was she alive? Was she dead?

He couldn't contain it anymore. Overwhelmed, he vomited loudly beside the glass tomb that encased his mother. So much for the food he had stuffed down during their break. A trembling hand wiped across his mouth as he let his forehead come to rest against the cool glass.

His mother.

* * *

Ladybug wasn't quite sure what to think of her partner's behaviour as they made their way through the underground path. He was tense, breathing wildly as if he was afraid of what they would find. She could feel him trembling slightly, waves of nerves rolling off him in a manner that waa was decidedly not his usual casual style.

Hawkmoth had certainly done a number on Chat. Ladybug figured the experience of having his identity revealed, followed by a failed one on one fight, and being akumatized had left him jumpy and worried it would happen again.

The platform they arrived at revealed a beautiful blonde woman confined to a glass case. A woman that she almost instantly recognized as Adrien's mother from the pictures he had shown her over the years. Ladybug blinked. Why was Gabriel keeping his wife in a glass tube underneath his house? Had Adrien known?

A muffled sound escaped Chat from where he stood beside her, his hand slipping from hers as he crept his way towards the woman. Pale and shaking, he pressed his fingers against the glass and made a soft grating sound that seemed to echo off the domed walls. Suddenly, he turned his head and doubled over, throwing up into the flowers that surrounded the case.

She made to move for him, to comfort him, something, anything only to freeze as a figure emerged from behind the case.

Hawkmoth.

The deadly stare on his face made her blood run cold. Steel grey eyes glinted like sun bouncing off a dagger blade, tearing mercilessly at her with a desperate determination. Somehow, her adversary seemed to fully believe he would win whatever was coming next.

"I see you've found my beautiful wife," he said. Chat made a strangled noise from where he leaned against the glass.

"What have you done to her?" A rough whisper escaped him and Ladybug frowned at the cold, sharp laughter that Hawkmoth gave in response.

"She was dying. I had to save her. The only way I can bring her back is through the use of the ladybug and black cat miraculous. They will give me power, the power to wish one thing - the only thing that matters to me - my wife."

The sound that Chat released then was a horrifying combination of a heartwrenching scream and a feral howl. Faster than she had ever seen him move, he attacked Hawkmoth, a blur of black. His baton hit the sword of the man with a resounding clang, over and over.

Behind her, Ladybug heard Rena yell in surprise. Twirling around, Ladybug caught sight of Mayura on the hallway platform, fan ready. A sudden realization that this woman must be Nathalie made her heart drop.

Adrien was losing everything tonight.


	15. Tempest

It was a flurry of chaos as Chat and Hawkmoth fought loudly on the platform while Rena and Carapace engaged Mayura in a whirlwind of colour: red, green, blue. Trusting that her friends would handle Mayura, Ladybug turned her attention to where her partner battled with Hawkmoth. Chat's movements were angry and aggressive while Hawkmoth held himself sharp and calculated. Throwing her yo-yo, she hooked it onto her enemy's leg, pulling it back as soon as it latched. Hawkmoth stumbled slightly, giving Chat the chance to swing his baton at the man. It collided with a thump against Hawkmoth's side, producing a grunt worthy of such a blow. Chat followed up with a frantic second attack, only to have his weapon meet a steel parry.

Ladybug yanked on the yo-yo again, only to have Hawkmoth kick it off with a snarl, his real focus on the cat in front of him.

"I guess you didn't learn your lesson last time. You can't beat me." The voice sent a shiver up her spine. Chat growled, the sound low and menacing, and his eyes darkened, leaving Ladybug a little rattled. It was too eerily familiar to the way he'd behaved under the Akuma's influence.

The two men continued to fight, blow for blow. They were so focused on each other that they didn't really seem to care if she was part of the battle or not. Ladybug suddenly realized that was her greatest asset - Hawkmoth's single-minded focus on Chat for whatever reason. Fast fingers coiled her yo-yo, preparing to launch it again when the sound of Rena's flute followed by a whirl of brilliant light distracted her. Over her shoulder, she could barely see anything behind a mass of swirling colours.

A heavy grunt drew her attention back to the fight between Hawkmoth and Chat. Blood dripping from a gash on his lip, Chat was held hostage against the wall with the weight of their enemy. Hawkmoth leaned close into Chat's face with a sneer.

"I win again." Chat responded by spitting blood all over Hawkmoth's face and baring his teeth. Yo-yo loosed, Ladybug pulled hard against the arm that held her partner, giving him just enough time to spin free. He swung his baton mid-twist, using his momentum to bring the end hard against Hawkmoth's chest and pushing the extending button, sending the man reeling unexpectedly backwards.

For a brief moment, Ladybug felt hope. Hope that they could defeat the man that had held the city of Paris captive for so long, who had treated his son with such coldness. Hope that they might claim back the missing miraculous and right the world. She yanked her yo-yo back and prepared to attack again.

And then, a metal fan hit her square in the jaw, throwing her head back with a snap. Mayura was there, her movements lightning quick with an air of beautiful elegance. The fan flashed blue, seemingly made of soft peacock feathers that were, in truth, coloured pieces of strong metal. Ladybug could barely keep her arms up against the rapid flurry of attacks from the woman.

One step back and Ladybug had enough space to spin the yo-yo as her shield, blocking the fan somewhat. A frantic glance down the path gave no evidence to the fate of Rena or Carapace. They were simply gone.

Behind her, Chat let out a sharp yowl, and Ladybug reacted on instinct alone, kicking her foot out to disrupt Mayura's attacks.

"Chat!" Ladybug called and somehow he was there, crouching low beside her. His face held a nasty cut, evidence of Hawkmoth's blade. Ladybug frantically twirled her yo-yo in front of her, hoping it could provide them with some protection as the duo of villains they faced pushed them back down the walkway.

"Pathetic children. You haven't been able to defeat me for this long, you won't be able to beat me now." Hawkmoth crowed, a terrible grin twisting the only part of his face visible beneath the mask. Step by step, Ladybug and Chat Noir found themselves pushed back, slowly heading to the room where the elevator had dropped them.

Maybe this had been the plan. To trap them in a large open room somehow. Ladybug tried to pull together some tactical play for when they went through the door. There must be something unexpected they could do.

A noise below caught her attention, and Ladybug dared to look down, catching a short relieving glimpse of her friends trapped in the darkness, protected by Carapace's green dome. They might be out of play, but at least they were safe.

Together, Chat and Ladybug backed into the large room, pressing their backs against each other as they had many times before. The room was dark, other than the light from the door where they had just left. At least until Hawkmoth entered the room with a large waving motion. The action triggered a response, a section of the large wall sliding open to reveal a huge window. A window that streamed in some of the light from the moon, casting a harsh silver glow into the room.

Hawkmoth's taunting monologue continued with constantly belittling words of their failure, of his plans with their jewellery, of how he was going to succeed. "My wife is the most important thing in the world to me. I would do anything to have her back - and I will."

"What about Adrien?" Ladybug dared to interject. The answer was just a cold laugh. Chat's response was surprising - a low hiss. But before she could process anything, their opponents were in motion, a signal somehow between them to attack.

Mayura collided with Chat, the two of them struggling with each other in a blur. Ladybug kept her attention on Hawkmoth, who had jumped in front of her. The moon glinted off his steel blade. She spun her yo-yo faster, the whirring sound keeping her focused.

He was fast, she had to admit, as the sword darted out and tried to jab her in the leg. She sidestepped quickly, just avoiding the tip of the blade. He'd been anticipating her movement and was swinging again, right into the middle of her twirling yo-yo shield. It was like slow motion as the string wound itself against the blade and he pulled her to him like a fish on a rod with a sudden jerk forward. Angry grey eyes bore into hers as he let out a snarl, fingers on her ear.

Frozen in shock, she knew this was it - the moment she'd been trying to prevent for the last four years. The moment that Hawkmoth took her miraculous and did whatever evil he had planned. The earring tugged against her earlobe.

It was Chat that stopped the movement from tearing the jewel from her ear, his sudden backflip knocking Hawkmoth off balance. Ladybug stepped away, desperately trying to pull her yo-yo free from the sword.

"I claimed you once, boy. I'll do it again. Your mother deserves better than you!" The words were sharp, mean, cutting. Hawkmoth attacked her again, his foot kicked out with all its might, landing squarely in her stomach and she fell, her yo-yo loop slipping off her finger. She could barely right herself as his steel-like grip grabbed her arms.

"Goodbye, Ladybug," the face in front of her sneered and then….. Flying. He had thrown her, she supposed, her small frame not much of a challenge for the strength of the man in the purple suit. Her eyes met Chat's, a haunted look hollowing their green depths. There was a crystalline sound of shattering glass as her body hit the window, a shower of sharp rain clawing at her. Curling herself as much as possible for protection, she could feel the glass tearing through her suit, leaving stinging marks all over her back and neck. Then there was air rushing against her body on the other side of the waterfall of glass as it headed towards the lawn below. Muscles tense, she braced herself for impact, rolling as she landed, a horrifying crunching sound accompanying the unyielding pain of glass shards being pressed into her skin.

* * *

Adrien rarely felt anger. In truth, Adrien rarely felt anything. Years of disappointment and disconnect had trained him well to keep emotion tightly controlled. This was part of the appeal of being Chat Noir: the freedom to wear his feelings on his sleeves, no matter how big or misguided they could be. Usually, as Chat, he was happy - playful even, as he enjoyed the lack of restrictions.

He thought he'd been angry when he and his father had fought beside his mother's coffin. But at this moment, watching as Ladybug vanished through a cloud of shattered glass at the hands of his father, Adrien was furious. Rage ripped through him as he allowed the carefully contained emotions free. His time spent akumatized had shown him exactly what wild, uncontrolled rage could feel like, could act like. The strength and power that anger gave. He'd had enough.

His father had used him. Abused him. Taken his mother from him and hidden her under their house in a glass box with some wicked delusion that he could somehow bring her back. Spent years attacking Paris and repeatedly putting not only Ladybug but his own son in danger. And now… he'd hurt the woman he loved.

Wrath settled on Chat like a cloak, wrapping itself around him tightly. He could feel the shift in his power - darkness bubbling from within as he let himself take hold of it. His skin burnt from the inside in a way that made him feel strong.

"I can take her earrings if she's dead." That voice grated against Chat's ears, making him want to roar and attack. His baton was moving before he even commanded it to, a hard sharp swing that connected with his enemy with a jarring crash.

Chat ran then, launching himself through the window and rolling to a stop on the glass-littered garden below. Ladybug lay still, blood seeping from a multitude of cuts all over her body. Carefully, he rolled her a little to see her face. She was pale, too pale, and limp.

The sound of crunching glass behind him sent him into a berserker-like fury, Chat attacked. He could feel his muscles scream in excitement as he launched himself on Mayura. She needed to go first - her speed and agility a danger to his ability to square off against his father. A quick sweeping kick around her legs knocked her to the ground and before she could respond he was on her, tearing the peacock charm from her dress with a clawing snarl. The blue transformation sizzled under him, leaving Nathalie blinking on the ground.

Vaguely, he heard Ladybug groan softly behind him, but the blood thrumming through his ears was calling him to press on, to attack. He whirled around, seeing her sitting up slightly and threw the miraculous charm into her lap before turning his attention to the man he desperately wanted to kill at that moment.

He attacked, letting the madness take him over, clashing steel of his baton against that of Hawkmoth's sword over and over in an unrelenting barrage, eyes only focused on Hawkmoth.

"You are weak and pathetic." The man continued to taunt, fueling Chat's anger more. "Your mother would be disappointed in what you've become." It needled him - the thought that his father could use his mother's opinion of him against him. It hurt to think she might be disappointed in him. And yet, he attacked again and again, the rattle of attacks sending tingles up his arms. "So pliable. You always do exactly what I want."

The hilt of Hawkmoth's sword smashed into his face, splitting open the cut on his lip again. Spitting out blood, Chat growled.

"Not this time." Chat threw himself headfirst into Hawkmoth, knocking him to the ground. Placing his baton across the man's chest, he knelt on it to hold it in place. His fists were flying, punching his father in the face over and over in uncontrolled anger. He deserved it. He deserved it all. He screamed "Cataclysm" and watched as the blackness coated his hand.

It was Ladybug's hands around his wrist, holding his back that stopped him. "Stop." She was begging, not ordering. Her blue eyes filled with terror and worry and shock at once. Chat's eyes slid back to the body of his father underneath him - bloody and unconscious. Panic replaced the rage. Panic and self-loathing, causing Chat to stumble off the man and look around for somewhere to slam his destructive force.

If he had anything left to vomit, he likely would have, but he'd emptied his stomach enough earlier to make it impossible now. There weren't even any tears left to cry. Chat just felt weak. Maybe his father was right after all. He was weak and pathetic. His mother would be disappointed. He touched a flower, a beautiful yellow lily, and watched it crumble to ash, before throwing himself back against the wall of the garden and sinking to the ground.

He watched as Ladybug reached over Hawkmoth and pulled the pin to his power, a gentle shift of purple light revealing the man beneath the suit that had haunted them both for so long.

Gabriel Agreste. Fashion Mogul. Millionaire. Paris Icon. Loving husband. Terrible father. Supervillain.

* * *

Ladybug stared at the miraculous jewels in her hands with a sense of wonder and sorrow - the peacock and the butterfly. They had been missing for so long and then held captive to the whims of evil. The kwamis inside must be terrified.

The sound of Nathalie's screaming brought her attention back to the body on the ground. Gabriel was struggling to breathe, even while unconscious. Looking around, Ladybug found her yo-yo tossed aside in the grass and forced her body to work despite the continuous jarring of shards in her skin. Picking it up, she called for emergency personnel to come and help. Shoving the two miraculous jewels into the yo-yo for later, Ladybug surveyed the scene.

Chat remained blank-faced against the wall. More than anything, she wanted to go to him, be with him, comfort him. He was broken, and she knew that whatever had just set him into rage mode was traumatizing him now. But, the curse of being Ladybug meant she had responsibilities - like helping her friends get out of the hole they were trapped in.

"Chat. Stay watch of Gabriel and Nathalie. I'll go find the rest of the team." A quick nod from her partner was all she got from him before she threw her yo-yo at the roof and slid back in through the window. Rena and Carapace were still at the bottom of the hallway.

A few swings of her yo-yo pulled them both to the platform. When everyone was settled back on the platform, Ladybug released her transformation, hoping that maybe changing out of the suit would remove her of the glass pieces. The relief she felt as the constant pricking faded along with her spots was palpable. Scratches and cuts still remained all over her neck and cheeks, but her body was healed. Tikki recharged quickly with a cookie and, within moments, the three heroes raced back to the yard, sirens wailing in the distance.

The scene that greeted them outside was unexpected. Chat stood staring down at Gabriel's body, his face ashen, arms at his side as Nathalie beat on his chest with closed fists and raging sobs, screaming at him for almost killing the man. Queen Bee had returned, standing off to the side with her hand clamped over her mouth and eyes wide, taking in the sight of Adrien's father on the ground.

Ladybug made her way to her partner, prying Nathalie away from her continued assault. A few soft words reduced the woman to sobs, crumpling to the ground. Chat let out a low moan, hands covering his face as he, too, fell to his knees. Sirens keened loudly as the vehicles arrived on the other side of the wall.

"I'm sorry. So sorry," he keened over and over, pulling Gabriel into his arms and rocking. Ladybug moved to comfort him as the medical team stampeded their way into the yard.

It was the flash of green that startled her and froze her hand mid-reach. A green that transformed the cat into a human. A green that released Plagg, throwing the little black cat being to the lap of his holder. A holder who held his father in his arms.

"Adrien." His name tumbled from her lips in surprise, the pieces of the greatest mystery she had known falling together with sudden and violent clarity.

Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir.

Adrien Agreste had faced his father and lost, ending up akumatized. Adrien Agreste had found his mother. Adrien Agreste had beaten his father senseless in a fit of unprecedented rage.

The sensation of floating as she processed it all was crushed by the sudden feeling of the ground slamming into her stomach as she tried to merge the playfulness of Chat Noir with the stoic softness of Adrien Agreste.

She felt dizzy as time sped back up. A loud gasp from Rena and soft cry from Carapace mingled with a loud one from Queen Bee.

Paramedics carefully pulled the boy from his father, leaving him to crumple onto the grass. Ladybug wanted to move, to comfort him, to pull him back together but she couldn't. Not when she could feel herself falling apart at the seams. She couldn't reveal herself right now. He needed more than she could give.

Wild, panicked eyes connected with Alya's. Her best friend nodded with understanding. The yo-yo was flying before Ladybug even realized she'd thrown it, sending her sailing into the light of the sun emerging for the early dawn.


	16. Alone

Hollow green eyes slid slowly over the faces in the audience of the courtroom, carefully avoiding contact with the two people at the desk opposite him. The crowd was a blur, no familiar faces stood out. He hadn't really expected there to be, although secretly he had hoped maybe Ladybug would be there. At the very least, he had hoped to see Nino or Marinette there or even Alya with her keen desire to report all things miraculous for her blog. But there was no one.

No one but the pair in front of him. For a moment, he spared a glance at the faces of his father and his assistant. Heart clenched with a mixture of pity, sorrow, and blind rage, he took in their haggard appearance. Darkness circled their eyes, expressions guarded, although a sense of frustrated righteousness pulsed from the both of them.

Sighing, Adrien ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes for a moment to ground himself again, before turning his attention back to the woman who stood before him.

"I know this must be hard, M. Agreste," she said calmly. "But, thank you for your testimony." Visibly, he cringed, although he wasn't quite sure if that was from hearing his name connected with his horrifying father or from the fact he was testifying against the man. Taking a moment to brace himself, Adrien tightened his jaw and steeled his eyes before nodding.

"First, can you tell me who this man is?" the woman asked, gesturing to the desk.

"Yes. He is my father, Gabriel Agreste," he answered.

"And the woman beside him?" she continued.

"Nathalie Sancoeur. She is my father's personal assistant." Adrien frowned slightly. She was more than that. She had cared for him, too. She had been his teacher, his silent champion against the limits imposed by a rigid father, the one who had helped him keep his schedule straight. But no time for that now.

"Tell me, Adrien. Were you happy at home?" the lawyer probed. Adrien sighed again. No point now in being the perfect son or having that perfect facade. He met the grey eyes of the man across from him before answering with a clear "No."

Gabriel didn't even react. That was the part that hurt the most. The man claimed all his actions had been done for the sake of his son, that it was all out of love - but that love felt like a lie to Adrien.

"Can you confirm that you were the hero, Chat Noir?" the questioning continued, forcing Adrien to face the truths that he had been shoving deep down for the last few months while struggling to keep himself sane.

That he was alone.

"Yes," he whispered roughly, trying not to let his emotions overtake him. Sanity had its purpose right now and he needed to cling on until the end of this trial. Then he could collapse into an emotional wreck and run away. But not today.

The lawyer guided him through question after question, making him share his experience as Chat Noir, especially about the revelation that his father was actually Hawkmoth. He had to prove he had no allegiance with the man who had terrorized the city - an absurd thought considering all he had done for Paris in opposition of Hawkmoth. He had to relive his akumatization and the blurry days that followed when Ladybug had freed him from it. He had to explain how together they had laid an attack on his father and his assistant in a hidden room of his own home, tearing the butterfly and peacock miraculous from them after an exhausting and nearly deadly battle that had led the foursome out into the streets of Paris and the public eye. He recounted the aftermath, standing over his father's unconscious body on the street while weeping for the family he knew he would never have again, transformation falling before he was even aware of the warnings and exposing his identity to a shocked city. He swallowed back a sob as he told the courtroom that he had no idea the identity of his red-suited partner, nor her whereabouts since she had hastily raced off before he could talk to her that night. And then, when asked, Adrien declared his father a delusional psychopath.

Testimony complete, he risked one more eye-lock with the man before walking out of the courtroom and never looking back.

The world outside the courtroom was loud, with voices calling his name and lights flashing in his face. Years as a public figure helped him ignore it all - pulling sunglasses over his eyes despite the overcast sky and a hood over his head. Hands shoved deep into the pocket of his sweatshirt, he pushed past the throng of reporters to the waiting car. Gorilla had been the only constant in his life these past few months, cleared of any connection with his employer's nefarious dealings.

Adrien let his bodyguard drive him without direction, probably to the apartment where Adrien was living for now. His mind was still whirling, the painful thrum of loneliness familiar at this point.

His father would be sent to prison. Nathalie, too. His mother had been declared dead, her body only kept alive through the glass case Gabriel and built her.

A quiet funeral had happened shortly after Gabriel had been released from the hospital, allowing him to attend despite his arrest. Gabriel had been livid to discover that his wife had been taken off life support, nearly attacking Adrien as punishment. Adrien had remained stoic in the face of his father while law enforcement had pulled the man away from the ceremony.

His friends comforted him as he let the facade fall, his body shaking and heart broken that the man he had once sought love from had never cared at all. His friends had given him space to recover and resettle, checking in via messages and texts.

Marinette had made it her personal mission to keep his small kitchen stocked with food. Food he probably wouldn't have eaten if she wasn't keeping watch on him. She would sit there and chatter away in her usual endless stream of words, trying to keep him entertained and happy while he ate. She would bring his schoolwork, insisting that they were so close to graduation that he needed to finish, so he did it for her.

Nino spent weekends with him, keeping him distracted with video games and trips to various stores in the city.

But, more than anyone, he missed Ladybug. He was almost desperate to see her. He didn't dare trust himself with the suit anymore, memories of rage making him afraid of who he might become if he dared to transform. Without the suit, he had no way to contact her, no way to track her, no connection to her at all. A post on Alya's blog asking her to meet him had resulted in nothing but a pep talk from Alya about "the right time."

There had been no sightings of his partner since that night and he wondered if knowing he was Chat Noir had been such a disappointment to her that she had gone into hiding.

The car suddenly felt too trapped and he asked the Gorilla to let him walk the rest of the way. Free from the prying intruders known as reporters, Adrien could finally breathe.

Behind the sunglasses, he let his eyes wander the rooftops around him, hoping maybe to catch a glimpse of a woman in a spotted red suit. It was too much to hope for, he knew, even as he scanned the skyline. Where was she now? Had she recovered from that fight? Would she ever forgive him for the wild monster he had become?

His footsteps lagged, aimlessly leading him to nowhere in particular while his brain continued its unleashed thoughts. How had his life become this hollow, meaningless, lonely thing?

Disconnected from the moment as he sludged through painful thoughts, he was only dimly aware of the sound of squealing tires to his right. It was slow motion as he raised his eyes from where they had been looking unseeingly at the pavement to see a white vehicle bearing down on him. Behind the glass sat a man whose face was contorted in an almost comical look of panic. Some small part of Adrien realized it was too late to respond. That this was inevitable. So he closed his eyes and braced his body for impact.

A terrifying thought crossed his mind: maybe this was his way out. Maybe this would free him from the guilt, the emptiness that clawed frantically at his chest.

When his body felt the impact and there was a rush of air soaring past his as he assumed his body tumbled through the air, he wondered briefly why it didn't hurt.

Slowly, his senses kicked back in. Tire squeals getting fainter. The pressure that felt like arms wrapped around him. The whistling motion of air rustling through his hair. Breath hot against his cheek. The familiar toss and draw of a yo-yo being thrown and swung.

His eyes flew open, startled. It was her. Ladybug. One arm pulling him flush against her, she yanked on the yo-yo string to arc herself pendulum-like to another rooftop. She landed with a soft thump, allowing her legs to run for a moment before they came to a slow halt and she let him go.

He must have been staring. At least, he assumed he was. His brain felt numb and slow to catch up. She blushed at his unblinking stare and hid her eyes, stepping back several steps to create a gap between them. He both hated that gap and yet wanted it to be wider.

"Are you ok?" Her voice was timid. Like she was afraid. He wondered what she was afraid of. He just nodded dumbly, unsure what to say.

Had she just scooped him up off the middle of the road where he had been sure he was going to die from a car hitting him?

"Good," she murmured. She refused to make eye contact with him, fidgeting slightly as she seemed to war with herself. He should say something. Anything. But nothing came out.

Finally, she nodded, turning away from him with her fingers against her to-yo.

"Are you disappointed?" The words came out broken, voice cracking in the middle, more desperate than he had hoped. But he needed to know. She whirled back to face him, shock lining her eyes as she made giants steps across the void between him.

"Never." A simple word was all it took for him to believe her.

The relief that pooled in his eyes tore at her heart. Wrapping her hands around his waist, she snuggled into his chest, thankful when she felt his arms snake around her back and his cheek rest on the top of her head.

"Oh, Adrien," she whispered, not sure what to do or where to start the conversation that they desperately needed to have. After a moment, she pulled away and looked up.

"Can we go somewhere?" It was a whispered hope. When he nodded, she grabbed her yo-yo and pulled him to her, relaxing slightly as he coiled arms around her neck to hold on. The yo-yo whirred and off they flew, familiar movements over the rooftops of the city they both loved so much.

The Eiffel Tower made sense. The place they felt was home. It was here they landed, high up the iron frame, hidden from prying eyes. Adrien had too many eyes on him already. Right now they needed to be alone.

The whiz of the string coiling back into place was the only sound between them as their feet settled to the floor. Adrien eyed her slightly before allowing himself the freedom to sit near the ledge. She could visibly see the tension releasing in his shoulders while his eyes scanned the Parisian skyline.

She sunk beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. The comfortable understanding between them put her at ease.

"Where have you been?" Adrien asked finally. She had been waiting for that question, trying to figure out how to explain what must have felt like another person in his life abandoning him.

"Closer than you know," she admitted. He gave her a frown. "Ok, let me try to explain."

His eyes never left her face as she tried to tell him everything.

How she had once been in love with a boy named Adrien Agreste but had decided that their incredible friendship was more than enough. And how, when he had been akumatized, she had come to the profound realization that she was completely and irrevocably in love with a boy known as Chat Noir - her partner. That Chat was her other half. That she couldn't live without him.

And that night against Hawkmoth, she had discovered they were one and the same. The feelings of failure to protect them both, of not seeing the connection sooner, of not being able to process all the pieces at once, of realizing how badly his father had hurt him had hit her all at once.

So she had run away instead of staying when he needed her most.

From there, she was afraid. Afraid that she had let him down again. Afraid of being a reminder of the pain that he had suffered. Afraid to fail him again. So she had stayed hidden, watching over him from the shadows instead of by his side. At least as Ladybug.

Adrien gaped at her, unmoving and unspeaking, his eyes wide. Ladybug dropped her eyes to look at her fingers that she twisted together awkwardly in her lap.

"I'm so sorry that I left you, Chat." She gulped slightly, shame fight in her throat. "You deserved better than that."

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes. It was Adrien who moved first, shifting his body to face her completely. His fingers found her chin, tipping her face up to force her to look into his eyes.

There was no judgement, no anger, no disappointment there. Only something small simmering behind the emerald depths that she couldn't quite place.

"Who are you?" His voice wavered slightly, eyes locked with hers.

Ladybug took a deep breath, her own eyes drifting closed before whispering, "Tikki, spots off."

The soft rush of electricity tingled against her skin and she shuddered slightly at the feeling, opening her eyes to meet his again.

Adrien simply stared at her, not saying anything, not letting her hide her face, forcing her to bare her identity to him without shame.

"Marinette." The way he said her name with such reverence made her blush.

"Hi."

Suddenly, he pulled her into his lap and his arms enveloped her tightly. She wrapped hers around him in return as Adrien pressed his cheek into her hair with a sob.

"I love you, Adrien." She dared to speak it, dared to let herself say the words she had longed to say for four long years. His grip tightened on her for a moment before he pulled back to look at her again. His eyes were on fire.

"I love you, Marinette." Her heart leapt.

Her fingers wove their way into his golden hair, his lips moving against hers, bodies pressed as tightly together as they could get - a yearning need for both of them calling like a light on the shore after the bleakest night.


	17. After

Adrien's heart beat loudly in his chest - a stark contrast to the rest of him which stood frozen. For there, in front of him, Marinette was making her way down the set of stairs from her bedroom dressed in a gown he could only semi-describe as breathtaking.

The sleeveless top was made of a brilliant crimson lace that spilt over slightly onto the top of a thick black tulle skirt that stopped just above her knees. Wrapped around her waist was a wide ribbon tied in a simple bow. The neckline scooped gently across her collar bone before taking a plunge deeper than Marinette had ever dared to wear before. Somehow, she was managing to get down the stairs while wearing strappy gold heels laced around her ankles and clutching onto a matching gold purse that likely housed Tikki for the night. Her hair was loose, falling softly against her shoulders in a way that made his fingers beg to run through it.

She looked amazing.

But the part that had his breath hitching in his throat was the wide black lace band that circled her neck, a golden pendant dangling from its centre - a blatant imitation of the bell he wore at his throat as Chat Noir. Reaching the bottom of the steps at last, she slowly raised her eyes to his. He caught a mixture of sass in the look she shot him, obviously taking pride in her ability to leave him breathless before she nervously bit her bottom lip.

"My lady," he breathed, grasping her hand and bringing it to his lips in a motion so familiar between them that it felt extremely intimate. A faint blush painted her cheeks and he felt himself smile. "You look beautiful." Her blush deepened.

"You clean up pretty good yourself, Kitty." She shot him a cocky grin before flicking his neck, right where his bell would be. Dressed in his best black suit with a bright red tie to match her gown, he felt somewhat underdressed compared to the amazing outfit she had created for herself. He wondered what her reaction would be when he pulled on the bowler hat she had made him years ago.

Beside them, Adrien heard Nino groan softly as another set of footsteps followed behind on the stairs where Marinette had just arrived. Alya's dress was so different than Marinette's - the burnt orange colour reminiscent of Alya's superhero identity only enough to flatter the young woman's skin tones. It followed her curves in a form-fitting style, flaring slightly at the bottom where her feet peeked out in deadly-looking silver stilettos. Alya, being Alya, knew exactly what she was doing, a wicked smile on her face as she looked at Nino.

Nino whispered a garbled "Dude," as his girlfriend sauntered her way down the stairs. Adrien understood exactly what he meant.

Tom let out a happy sound from behind the young men and before Adrien had realized it, he found himself mindlessly smiling for memorial photos of the couples heading to their graduation party.

Somehow, he's managed to make it to graduation. He knew it was all because of Marinette's gentle prodding and pushing. He wasn't going to lie. The last few months had been hard to make himself focus on anything. He still didn't trust himself in the suit, no matter what his kwami or partner had to say about it. The thought of losing himself to that darkness again made his blood run cold.

Nightmares plagued his dreams, fragmented visions of being trapped but wild combined with an uncontrolled rage clawing at his very core. The memory of his father's face haunted him. If it wasn't for Marinette constantly reminding him of the good that he had done as Chat Noir, trying to counter everything dark that threatened him, Adrien wasn't sure where he would be right now.

But tonight - tonight he was free of it all, able to go to dress up and have a fun night with friends that he had made over the last four years at school. He was able to hold Marinette close and dance, as more than just friends. He was able to forget everything and believe in happiness. That his life would one day return to a new sense of normal.

His eyes slid down to the girl curled into his side, rolling her eyes at her parents who were insisting on just one more photo of them. This normal. He couldn't help but smile at her. She looked up at him, exasperated, only to catch his gaze. He watched as her eyes widened and then softened, a small smile curling her mouth.

He wanted to tell her how much he loved her. How much he needed her to be with him forever. But instead, he just smiled back. Until he heard a soft, familiar click of the camera and a chuckle from Marinette's dad. That made him blush.

Alya not-subtly cleared her throat, drawing Marinette's attention and then there was nothing but movement and fluster as they rushed to get ready for Chloe's party. Hugs from Sabine - who gently pulled him into a tight hug before making sure his tie was straight - were followed with words of encouragement to have a wonderful night from Tom.

Adrien gripped Marinette's elbow in fear for her safety as they made their way down to the ground level of the bakery. She might be Ladybug, but Marinette's track record of clumsiness was something he knew well.

His friends had straight-up refused to let him pay for all the extras that they wanted - the limo, for example. Instead, they had all pitched in money they had earned from their various part-time jobs to split the cost. Marinette had assured him it was to make the evening feel like it was for all of them, but he suspected it was more that they didn't want the rich kid to pay for things.

As they climbed into the limousine with squeals and chatter, Adrien took a moment to look at each of the excited faces of the friends he now considered family. It was strange and yet completely natural that not only had they become a close-knit group of friends, but also a superhero team together. He could see it now that he knew - their personalities each shone through even when suited up.

Marinette's hand on his brought him out of his thoughts.

"You ok?" she whispered, her eyes trying to read his. Maybe he'd been too pensive. He smiled at her with a nod, knowing that he was more than ok. She was with him. She smiled back before stretching up to kiss his cheek.

The drive to the Grand Hotel wasn't long - just long enough for Alya to take a zillion group photos of them in a limo to post online - and before they knew it, they were pulling up alongside the red carpet that Chloe had ordered meticulously placed as a grand entrance to the event.

Before getting out, Adrien casually reached into a box he'd tucked into the corner of the seats and grabbed his favourite bowler hat. He popped it on outside the door before reaching his hand back in to help Marinette out of the car with a grin that would do Chat Noir proud.

She didn't notice at first, concentrating on getting her feet steady under her before looking up at him. Then she tripped in surprise, a move that he had fully expected. It made his heart jump to be able to make her all flustered like that.

"You still have the hat?" she gaped, reaching up to gently tuck one of his hairs into place from where the hat had moved it.

"Of course. It was from you, my lady." She flushed completely and he chuckled before guiding her up the carpet to the entrance of the hotel.

Chloe had done an amazing job putting the event together. The hotel was transformed into a beautiful ballroom, complete with all the things she had felt would be needed - a photo corner full of goofy props, a snacking station and a mock bar, a live set of musicians, and a giant ice sculpture. Chloe herself was buzzing around like the Queen Bee that she was, making sure everything was perfect and everyone was happy, dressed in a golden dress that sparkled under the lights that she'd had placed everywhere.

When she caught sight of their arrival, she squealed and raced over, throwing herself at him with her usual "Adrikins!" He was used her flamboyant displays of affection, long having come to terms with the realization that she was trying to somehow showcase her care through her actions. Returning her enthusiastic hug with a gentle squeeze, he complimented her on the work that she had done for this event.

"Of course it's amazing, Adrikins. I am the one who put it together after all." With that, Chloe tossed her hair over her shoulder and flounced off to snap at a hotel employee for not having put the right number of champagne glasses on the table. But she did so with a giant smile, obviously happy with his approval.

The rest of the night was filled with laughter, mountains of food, conversations of memories from their school years together, speeches, and classmates doing silly things. His favourite moment of the whole night was holding Marinette tightly to him with her arms wound around his neck, swaying gently to the soft music together. Leaning his face down into her hair, he knew this was the future he wanted. A life with her this close all the time.

She looked up at him then, a soft smile on her lips. "Me too, Kitty." He felt his eyes widen slightly as he realized he'd spoken his dream out loud. And then he kissed her. Because there wasn't a reason not to.

* * *

"Come on, please?" Her eyes pleaded with him, hand outstretched to reach for him. He didn't think he could do it. Two small sets of eyes peered over her shoulder, hopeful.

"You can do this, kid. I promise." Plagg. Plagg believed in him. Marinette believed in him. And if the twinkle in Tikki's eyes meant anything, she believed in him too. It was good that all of them had such faith in him because he didn't know if he believed in himself.

His hands were frustratingly shaky as he took her hand and let her lead them to an alley. It was dark now, the night had taken over the day while they had laughed and danced and partied with their friends.

It was in this cover of night that she wanted to transform together. His heart wouldn't stop pounding in ferocious rhythm, but he let her hold him tightly, her head cranked up to watch his face.

"Ready?" she whispered. He wanted to yell no. He wanted to never transform again. But instead, he nodded awkwardly.

In unison, they called their transformation, the alleyway bathed in momentary pink and green as the light flashed over their bodies. The shock and intimacy of the whole thing took them both by surprise - watching the other change before their eyes into their superhero selves with a ripple of energy was breathtaking. It made him want to shove her up against the wall and kiss her senseless, fulfilling so many of the Ladybug dreams he'd had over the years.

He stepped back, staring shakily at the gloves wrapped around his hands. At the heavy boots on his feet. Once, this suit had represented his freedom. An escape of a life that he had hated. Now, this suit felt like a cage. As if a monster loomed inside and he was trapped with it. It terrified him. What if he lost control again? What if he hurt someone else he loved? What if that someone was her?

He could feel the panic clawing at his brain, the edges of his night vision getting blurry as he struggled to take in air. He balled his hands into fists, clutching them to his hair, struggling to breathe. Stumbling slightly, he found himself on his knees.

"I can't do this," he cried, panic taking over his every thought.

Then she was there. Hands gently prying his from his head, arms around his neck, kneeling in front of him. Warm lips on his. He forced himself to concentrate on her, on how close she was to him, on the sound of her broken breaths as they kissed, on the feel of her back under his gloves, on the smell that was distinctly her. Ladybug.

She broke off the kiss with a gasp, needing more air. He opened his eyes to find hers inches away.

"Yes, you can Kitty." She got to her feet, pulling him with her. He could try. For her.

She shot him a grin before grabbing her yo-yo. "Race you to the tower, Kitty."

And she was gone - swinging off into the night sky with a practised throw. He laughed a little, memories of many nights on patrol having begun with this simple game of tag. His feet were thundering after her before he even realized he was moving. Baton in hand, he launched himself to the rooftops and clawed his way across the city.

She was fast, a blurred pendulum of red in the darkness, but he knew he could win if he used all his strength. He relaxed into his top speed, arms and legs moving in synchronicity as he closed the gap between them. Without Hawkmoth, there was no need to make any pretense that this was a patrol. They could just race across the city with unabashed fervor.

It was hard to say who made it first - the blur of red or the shadow of black, but they both arrived breathless and windburnt, eyes twinkling and hearts soaring. The joy on her face made him realize how much he loved her. He could wear the suit again. She would save him. Like always.

The kiss that he gave her then was not gentle. It was wanton and needy, trying to pour out all the overwhelming love that he felt into her. She responded the same.

He realized something else, standing there at the top of the Eiffel Tower with the woman he had loved from the moment he had met her gathered into his arms: Chat felt alive again. This really was his favourite time of day.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who took this wild journey with me. :) I've had a great time writing it and I've loved every single comment and encouragement from you all. Thank you for keeping me accountable to get these stories done and posted!  
Until the next story! (Which looks like it's going to be the Gods AU! Keep your eyes open for it!)


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